United Nations, June 24 (RHC)-- Fearing the effects of the Zika virus on their unborn children, more and more pregnant women in Latin America are reportedly seeking abortion pills online from a non-profit aid agency. According to a study from the New England Journal of Medicine.
The new research is the first measure of the response of pregnant women to Zika warnings in countries where abortion is limited or banned. First detected in Brazil last year, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has since issued an alert for the mosquito-borne virus across Latin America.
El Salvador has gone so far as to advise women to avoid pregnancy altogether. The World Health Organization also recently advised couples living in areas with Zika transmission to consider delaying pregnancy.
The study analyzed requests for abortion services from Women on Web, a nonprofit that provides access to the abortion medications and online consultations to women in countries where legal abortion is limited. The group offers the pills in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy to induce a miscarriage.