RESUMO
The scope of this article is to discuss the commercialization and use of misoprostol for abortion purposes in the illegal contexts that still persist in Brazil. The information presented was collected through case studies conducted with two young women who aborted using medication - one successfully and one unsuccessfully - and two adult women who have close ties with women who used misoprostol. The study confirms the hypothesis that the diffusion and expansion of the use of misoprostol outside the hospital context is associated with the decision of women who seek lower costs, lower risks to their health and privacy. It also permits examination of the interpretation that this increase in consumption is linked to the inclusion of the medication in a set of goods that are illegally traded in Brazil, in different ways and in different contexts. As a result, women are exposed to different degrees of vulnerability depending directly on the steps taken, types of mediation used and social networks they belong to. These are the ways in which women and men obtain access to the use of misoprostol for abortion, the outcome of which may be successful or not.
Assuntos
Abortivos não Esteroides , Aborto Criminoso , Aborto Induzido , Misoprostol , Apoio Social , Brasil , Comércio , Feminino , Humanos , GravidezRESUMO
O objetivo é problematizar a comercialização e o uso abortivo do misoprostol em contextos de ilegalidade que ainda persistem no Brasil. As informações apresentadas foram coletadas através de estudo de caso realizado com duas mulheres jovens que praticaram o aborto medicamentoso, com sucesso e sem sucesso respectivamente, e com duas mulheres adultas que têm aproximação com mulheres que fizeram uso do misoprostol. O estudo confirma a hipótese de que a difusão e a expansão do uso não-hospitalar do misoprostol estão associadas à decisão das mulheres, as quais buscam menores custos, menores riscos à sua saúde e privacidade. Também permite explorar a interpretação de que esse incremento de consumo vincula-se também à incorporação do medicamento a um conjunto de mercadorias que são comercializadas ilegalmente no Brasil. Como resultado, as mulheres são expostas a diferentes graus de vulnerabilidade, dependendo diretamente dos itinerários desenvolvidos, das mediações utilizadas e das redes sociais a que pertencem, recursos esses por meio dos quais mulheres e homens constroem a possibilidade de acesso ao uso abortivo do misoprostol, cujo êxito não é garantido.
The scope of this article is to discuss the commercialization and use of misoprostol for abortion purposes in the illegal contexts that still persist in Brazil. The information presented was collected through case studies conducted with two young women who aborted using medication - one successfully and one unsuccessfully - and two adult women who have close ties with women who used misoprostol. The study confirms the hypothesis that the diffusion and expansion of the use of misoprostol outside the hospital context is associated with the decision of women who seek lower costs, lower risks to their health and privacy. It also permits examination of the interpretation that this increase in consumption is linked to the inclusion of the medication in a set of goods that are illegally traded in Brazil, in different ways and in different contexts. As a result, women are exposed to different degrees of vulnerability depending directly on the steps taken, types of mediation used and social networks they belong to. These are the ways in which women and men obtain access to the use of misoprostol for abortion, the outcome of which may be successful or not.