Honduras has one of the world’s strictest abortion bans. Secretive networks use aliases and encrypted messages to get information and abortion pills to women and help those seeking to terminate pregnancies safely amid legal, social and religious tension.
Advocates say forcing abortions to take place in secret inherently creates more risk, though that’s mitigated when women are provided proper instructions. That’s why guides of the networks in Honduras say they’re dedicated to helping as many people as possible.
Activists learn tricks of the trade little by little. “Now there is less naiveté and more technology, virtual phone numbers, disappearing messages,” said the activist with 12 years of experience. The guide asks basic health questions, including how far along the pregnancy is, and requests that an ultrasound be sent through a secure application. Then the challenge is obtaining the pills – never referred to as medication abortions, or with their pharmaceutical names, but as ordinary objects, code names that change from group to group.
Once a woman has the pills in hand, the guide suggests finding a private place, away from prying eyes. When she’s ready to take the medication, the woman is advised to have her cellphone near to ask any questions about bleeding or pain and to let the guide monitor the process through a safe app. Normally, the networks try to avoid having a guide help a relative or friend. But the experience of having an abortion often motivates those involved to help others. The young lawyer later offered her living room to a friend; her own husband didn’t know what was happening on the sofa next door.In a small community of unpaved streets in northern Honduras, a woman who ended her pregnancy years ago recently refused to help her daughter get an abortion.
That’s why some activists have specialized in accompanying girls for abortions. The minors, some just 12, are usually with their mothers or grandmothers — who often need more comfort than the girls, the experienced guide said: “The older people, we get more scared.” Dr. Zyanya Cruz consulted with a patient. It was 2 p.m. on a Monday, and eight women whose pregnancies ended had already been seen, two of them minors.
In 2021, an amendment to add the abortion ban directly to the constitution was adopted. The measure also increased the number of lawmakers needed to change that part of the constitution. It cannot be “repealed or modified” by other legal provisions, according to the text. The Honduras Gynecologists Association says the current legislation is inconsistent with science and leaves doctors vulnerable to accusations of violating the constitution every time they save a woman’s life.
In 2015, raids of clinics resulted in the arrest of several health professionals. More recently, some activists say they received intimidating and threatening messages, sent anonymously to their phones and generally coinciding with political instability. They also say some women have fled the country over harassment and legal complaints.
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