Brazil Women Sterilization Essay

In 1985, Brazil had an estimated population of women, at reproductive age, of 40 million . Of that 40 million, an estimated 11 million women had undergone a sterilization procedure, leaving them unable to bear children. A rapid rise in sterilization occurred in the early 1970s and has maintained popularity to modern day. Many women undergoing the procedure were victims of the educational and political system’s failures. Education surrounding contraceptive methods was rare and the Brazilian government’s involvement in the issue caused women to privately arrange for the operation. Women began to family plan by undergoing tubal ligation, the only method known to them. The increased use of sterilization procedures among Brazilian women was the result of an increased involvement of the government in family planning as well as the lack of education for women on other contraceptive forms. In the last fifty years of Brazil’s history there has been a massive shift in fertility and birth rates. In the year 1970, Brazil’s fertility rate was recorded as 5.75 children per woman. Although the country had one of the highest recorded fertility rates at the time, the country ended with 50 million people fewer than demographers predicted …show more content…
1980 was the year of attempted democratization in Brazil and the Catholic Church still served as a major voice for societal change. During that time, the church began to support natural methods of family planning. In doing so, the church unknowingly denied women access to the various available methods of birth control, leaving private sterilization as the only apparent option. Although the result was unintentional, the problem of sterilization continued to grow. Finally, in the early 1990s, Brazil’s government considered legislation that would reduce the rate of female