|
Peru Population Policy and Family Planning
The issue of slowing population growth through the
systematic
implementation of modern birth-control methods had
remained lowkey since the late 1960s but erupted during the 1980s, as
a
result of pressure coming particularly from women.
Research in
the early 1980s showed that over 75 percent of women
wished to
use contraceptives, but over 50 percent did not do so out
of fear
and uncertainty about their effects or because of the
disapproval
of the spouse. In this context, the 1985 Law of the
National
Population Council came into being under the premise that
although abortion and voluntary sterilization were
excluded, all
other "medical, educational, and information services
about
family planning guarantee that couples and all persons can
freely
choose the method for control of fecundity and for family
planning." The proposed law was opposed in 1987 by the
Assembly
of Catholic Bishops, which retained its opposition to
artificial
methods and "irresponsible philosophies." Implementation
of the
law, however, began that year, setting targets for
lowering
fecundity rates to 2.5 children per family by the year
2000 and
greatly amplifying the availability of clinical resources
and
contraceptives. In addition to government programs, there
were
sixteen private organizations promoting various aspects of
the
policy by 1988.
In 1986 a reported 46 percent of women of child-bearing
age
were using some form of contraception, but it was not
known what
percentage of men used contraceptives. The data on the
incidence
of abortions was not compiled until the 1980s, but
according to
hospital reports, in 1986 there were 31,860 abortions
performed
for life-threatening sociomedical reasons, which
represented
almost 43 percent of all hospital cases involving
obstetrical
procedures. The estimated rate of clandestine abortions,
however,
was reportedly at the high rate of 143 cases per 1,000
pregnancies, despite a law that in theory prohibited such
interventions. A survey in 1986 of women's attitudes
toward
contraception and family planning showed that over 27
percent of
women would halt their family size after one child, 69
percent
would limit their family to two, and over 80 percent
desired no
more than three children. It was clear from this response
that
Peruvian women wanted to limit family size and that their
demands
for increased state and private services would continue to
rise.
During the 1975-90 period, contraceptives became more
widely
available throughout Peru, being distributed or sold
nationwide
through Ministry of Health programs and private clinics,
pharmacies, and even by street vendors in marketplaces.
Pharmacies were the most common source of both information
about
and supply of contraceptives. Not surprisingly, use of
birthcontrol techniques increased sharply with socioeconomic
status,
educational level, and urban coastal residence.
Data as of September 1992
|
