Experience obtaining legal abortion in Uruguay: knowledge, attitudes, and stigma among abortion clients.

BACKGROUND: The abortion law in Uruguay changed in 2012 to allow first trimester abortion on request. Implementation of the law in Uruguay has been lauded, but barriers to care, including abortion stigma, remain. This study aimed to assess women's experiences seeking abortion services and related attitudes and knowledge following implementation of the law in Uruguay. METHODS: We interviewed 207 eligible women seeking abortion services at a high-volume public hospital in Montevideo in 2014. We generated univariate frequencies to describe women's experiences in care. We conducted regression analysis to examine variations in experiences of stigma by women's age and number of abortions. RESULTS: Most of the women felt that abortion was a right, were satisfied with the services they received, and agreed with the abortion law. However, 70% found the five-day waiting period unnecessary. Women experienced greater self-judgement than worries about being judged by others. Younger women in the sample (ages 18-21) reported being more worried about judgment than women 22 years or older (1.02 vs. 0.71 on the ILAS sub-scale). One quarter of participants reported feeling judged while obtaining services. Women with more than one abortion had nearly three times the odds of reporting feeling judged. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the need to address abortion stigma even after the law is changed. Some considerations from Uruguay that may be relevant to other jurisdictions reforming abortion laws include: the need for strategies to reduce judgmental behavior from staff and clinicians towards women seeking abortions, including training in counseling skills and empathic communication; addressing stigmatizing attitudes about abortion through community outreach or communications campaigns; mitigating the potential stigma that may be perpetuated through policies to prevent "repeat" abortions; ensuring that younger women and those with more than one abortion feel welcome and are not mistreated during care; and assessing the necessity of a waiting period. The rapid implementation of legal, voluntary abortion services in Uruguay can serve in many ways as an exemplar, and these findings may inform the process of abortion law reform in other countries

“It’s something that marks you”: Abortion stigma after decriminalization in Uruguay

Abstract Background Abortion stigma is experienced by women seeking abortion services and by abortion providers in a range of legal contexts, including Uruguay, where abortion was decriminalized up to 12 weeks gestation in 2012. This paper analyzes opinions and attitudes of both abortion clients and health professionals approximately two years following decriminalization and assesses how abortion stigma manifests among these individuals and in institutions that provide care. Methods In 2014, we conducted twenty in-depth, semi-structured interviews with abortion clients (n = 10) and health care professionals (n = 10) in public and private facilities across Uruguay’s health system. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and then coded for thematic analysis. Results We find that both clients and health professionals express widespread satisfaction with the implementation of the new law. However, there exist critical points in the service where stigmatizing ideas and attitudes continue to be reproduced, such as the required five-day waiting period and in interactions with hospital staff who do not support access to the service. We also document the prevalence of stigmatizing ideas around abortion that continue to circulate outside the clinical setting. Conclusion Despite the benefits of decriminalization, abortion clients and health professionals still experience abortion stigma

Redox metabolism in Trypanosoma cruzi: functional characterization of tryparedoxins revisited

Tryparedoxins (TXNs) are multipurpose oxidoreductases from trypanosomatids that transfer reducing equivalents from trypanothione to different thiol proteins. In Trypanosoma cruzi, two genes coding for TXN like proteins have been identified: TXNI, previously characterized as a cytoplasmic protein, and TXNII, a putative tail-anchored membrane protein. In this work, we performed a comparative functional characterization of T. cruzi TXNs. Particularly, we cloned the gene region coding for the soluble version of TXNII for its heterologous expression. The truncated recombinant protein (without its 22 C-terminal transmenbrane amino acids) showed TXN activity. It was also able to transfer reducing equivalents from trypanothione, glutathione or dihydrolipoamide to different acceptors, including methionine sulfoxide reductases and peroxiredoxins. Results support the occurrence and functionality of a second tryparedoxin, which appears as a new component in redox scenario in T. cruzi.Fil: Arias, Diego Gustavo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; ArgentinaFil: Márquez, Vanina Elizabet. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; ArgentinaFil: Chiribao, Maria L.. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Gadhela, Fernanda R.. Universidade Estadual Do Campinas. Instituto de Biología; BrasilFil: Robello, Carlos. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Iglesias, Alberto Alvaro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; ArgentinaFil: Guerrero, Sergio Adrian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; Argentin