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Postabortion care providers who breach patient confidentiality endanger women's health and violate ethics. A 1998 abortion ban in El Salvador likely spurred an increase in the number of women investigated, because many women were reported to legal authorities by health care providers. Having analyzed safeguards of confidentiality in laws and ethical guidelines, we obtained information from legal records on women prosecuted from 1998 to 2003 and identified factors that may lead to reporting through a survey of obstetrician-gynecologists (n=110). Although ethical and human rights standards oblige providers to respect patients' privacy, 80% of obstetrician-gynecologists mistakenly believed reporting was required. Most respondents (86%) knew that women delay seeking care because of fear of prosecution, yet a majority (56%) participated in notification of legal authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nicaragua's Penal Code permits 'therapeutic abortion' without defining the circumstances that warrant it. In the absence of a legally clear definition, therapeutic abortion is variously considered legal only to save the woman's life or also to protect the health of the woman, and in cases of fetal malformation and rape. This paper presents a study of the theory and practice of therapeutic abortion in Nicaragua within this ambiguous legal framework. Through case studies, a review of records and a confidential enquiry into maternal deaths, it shows how ambiguity in the law leads to inconsistent access to legal abortions. Providers based decisions on whether to do an abortion on women's contraceptive behaviour, length of pregnancy, compliance with medical advice, assessment of women's credibility and other criteria tangential to protecting women's health. The Nicaraguan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology aimed to clarify the law by developing a consensus among its members on the definition and indications for therapeutic abortion. If the law designates doctors as the gatekeepers to legal abortion, safeguards are needed to ensure that their decisions are based on those indications, and are consistent and objective. In all cases, women should be the ultimate arbiters of decisions about their reproductive lives, to guarantee their human right to life and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health care providers play a central role in the promotion and protection of human rights in patient care. Consequently, the World Medical Association, among others, has called on medical and nursing schools to incorporate human rights education into their training programs. This report describes the efforts of one Central American nongovernmental organization to include human rights - related content into reproductive health care provider training programs in Nicaragua and El Salvador. Baseline findings suggest that health care providers are not being adequately prepared to fulfill their duty to protect and promote human rights in patient care. Medical and nursing school administrators, faculty, and students recognize the need to strengthen training in this area and are enthusiastic about incorporating human rights content into their education programs. Evaluation findings suggest that exposure to educational materials and methodologies that emphasize the relationship between human rights and reproductive health may lead to changes in health care provider attitudes and behaviors that help promote and safeguard human rights in patient care.

Postabortion care providers who breach patient confidentiality endanger women's health and violate ethics. A 1998 abortion ban in El Salvador likely spurred an increase in the number of women investigated, because many women were reported to legal authorities by health care providers. Having analyzed safeguards of confidentiality in laws and ethical guidelines, we obtained information from legal records on women prosecuted from 1998 to 2003 and identified factors that may lead to reporting through a survey of obstetrician-gynecologists (n=110). Although ethical and human rights standards oblige providers to respect patients' privacy, 80% of obstetrician-gynecologists mistakenly believed reporting was required. Most respondents (86%) knew that women delay seeking care because of fear of prosecution, yet a majority (56%) participated in notification of legal authorities.

Unsafe abortion persists as a serious health problem for women. It is rooted in poverty, social inequity, and denial of women's basic human rights. As experience from Latin America and other regions demonstrates, obstetrician-gynecologists can be leaders in supporting reproductive rights and access to safe abortion, through their professional societies and also by way of their roles as providers, academicians, and advocates. Ob-gyns are often most effective when working in partnership with women's organizations, lawyers, and other stakeholders.

Human rights and public health advocates working to compel states to guarantee access to legal abortion services face obstacles. We describe the challenges faced by "Rosa", a nine-year old Nicaraguan girl, whose pregnancy following rape sparked international controversy. The health and human rights arguments utilized either to support or undermine her family's petition for access to legal abortion are explored. Rosa's case highlights how laws that narrowly restrict abortion and make access contingent upon health care providers' approval undermine human rights principles. The article analyzes the strengths, limitations, and complementarity of health and human rights approaches for achieving access to safe, legal services in restrictive contexts. The importance of strategic alliances and implications for future cases are considered.