The history of voluntary termination of pregnancy (IVG) in Guadeloupe is very different from that of mainland France. Even today, comparing figures without taking context into account could confuse understanding. But if the number of abortions performed is significant, abortion is in no way a substitute for contraception for the women who use it. Even if the organizations in charge of the issue wish to generalize sexuality education for the youngest so that the choice of such an act is always made consciously.
FJO. with B. Pansiot-Villon
•
Published on January 17, 2025 at 3:00 a.m.
While she introduced the bill in 1974 which granted women the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy, Simone Veil emphasized to parliamentarians that:
“No woman resorts to abortion willingly.”
Simone Veil, Minister of Health, November 1974
The law was promulgated on January 17, 1975. Long before this vote, voices were raised in Guadeloupe for women to obtain this right and to use it, if they wish. Among these voices, those of the Communist Party and above all, the Guadeloupe Women’s Union.
•
©Guadeloupe the 1st
Son of one of the founders of Family Planning, Jacques Bangou experienced these times of activism which preceded the adoption of the law. A gynecologist, he also does not forget the role played by the practitioners of his discipline, particularly aware of the numerous vital risks incurred during clandestine acts. Overall, the medical profession was already objectively understanding.
©Guadeloupe
50 years after the adoption of the law, the number of abortions in Guadeloupe reached record levels: 32.80 were carried out in 2023, 80 more than in 2022. A figure which places Guadeloupe, after Guyana, in head of the regions of France where the most abortions are practiced: 40.6 per thousand compared to 16.3 in mainland France. (See the study of Data.drees.solidarites) Women that Family Planning receives to support and advise them.
©Guadeloupe
It should also be noted that, of the 3,283 abortions recorded in Guadeloupe in 2023, 87 concerned women under 18 years old, 175 for women under 20 years old. It must be said that currently, 18% of young Guadeloupean women aged 18 to 24 do not use any means of contraception. In 2020, 21% of women under 45 did not use contraception, 3 times less than in France).
A sufficient reason for Family Planning to justify the generalization of systematic information on sexuality for adolescents and young adults.
©Guadeloupe
•
©B. Pansiot-Villon
