A commitment from Parliamentarians: strategies for promoting emergency contraception.

The Regional Meeting of Parliamentarians on Emergency Contraception, organized by the Grupo Parlamentario Interamericano sobre Poblacion y Desarrollo (GPI, Inter American Parliamentarians' Group on Population and Development), was held in Santiago, Chile at the headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC/CEPAL), April 11-12, 2002. This international event also had support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNEPA) and Chile's Asociacion de Proteccion de la Familia (APROFA, Family Protection Association).

Members of parliament from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay joined in discussions on emergency contraception and the varying conditions of sexual and reproductive in their countries. Numerous representatives of health NGOs and the scientific community from throughout the region also shared their experiences on the issue. Latin American and Caribbean Women's Health Network was represented by both the General Coordinator, Esperanza Ceron, and Revista Mujer Salud editor Adriana Gomez. LACWHN not only supports the use of this contraceptive method but also advocates united efforts to guarantee women's access to EC products.

The meeting's participants agreed on the need to develop strategies and work plans for promoting EC in accordance with the realities of each country and they emphasized the importance of alliances between legislators and civil society in this effort. All the participants agreed that EC is an essential tool for the prevention of unwanted and/or unplanned pregnancies and the resulting unsafe abortions, the primary cause of maternal mortality in our region. Access to EC was also addressed in terms of the human right of all individuals to regulate their fertility in the manner of their choosing, to have access to all the modern methods available and to have reliable information with which to make these decisions.

A number of other topics were also discussed, including: the medical aspects of EC; strategies for promotion and dissemination of the method; and the introduction of EC in select countries. Participants stressed the need to use products specifically designed and marketed for use as emergency contraception because they are more effective and have fewer side effects than the combined oral contraceptive regimen. A regional overview of the regulatory guidelines for the use of EC products was also presented.

This overview clearly revealed the tremendous diversity that exists within the Latin American and Caribbean region. In several countries, the emergency contraceptive method of combined oral contraceptive pills has been used for many years. However, few countries have a product that is specifically sold for use as EC, and even fewer have incorporated this method into the protocols for sexual and reproductive health care services or for the treatment of women victims of sexual violence. When sold in pharmacies, EC is sometimes available only with a registered prescription, which is kept on file. This last point is perceived as a serious obstacle to the wide-spread use of EC, especially for adolescents and poor women.

During the course of the event, Revista Salud Mujer editor Adriana Gomez spoke with two of the participants: Daisy Tourne, a member of the Uruguayan parliament, and Colombian senator Piedad Cordoba about the situations of their respective countries. For more information about the meeting and the final document produced by the participants, contact Giselle Carino, e-mail: [e-mail]