Dominican Republic & Roe v. Wade

“The Dominican Republic has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in the world, as 22% of 15–19-year-olds either are, or have been, pregnant. The country has the highest teen pregnancy rate in Latin America and the Caribbean” -hrw.org

Most of these pregnancies are both unwanted and unplanned. Majority are the sad consequence of the lack of sex education that young girls are able to receive and the lack of accessibility of contraceptives within the island.

Because I’ve grown up hearing horror stories of what happens when a government possesses power over women’s reproductive rights, the overturning of Roe V. Wade instilled the same fear in me that hearing said those same stories did, most likely because they were to become reality (and already have) for women living in the United States if reform does not take place soon.

Being that I was raised by a young mother, it seems like common sense to be in support of women having absolute control over when they can and want to give birth. I now realize that such a choice is not promised for many women in and outside the U.S., and therefore that it is a privilege. It is now that I also realize the overturning of Roe V. Wade is not just some spontaneous decision made by the Supreme Court, but it is a right that has BEEN a question since its existence alongside other human rights (ex: same-sex marriage, interracial marriage, etc.). That, to me, is the scariest part.

That in the U.S., basic rights are a controversial debate topic rather than a given. That the restriction of one human right provides the opportunity for the “leaders” of this country to restrict many more.

Like with most political issues that take place in the U.S., I almost always try to draw parallels between them and the Dominican Republic. Not only is this because D.R. is what I know best, but also because it highlights the hypocrisy within many American leaders and people when it comes to how they characterize third-world countries.

Although denied now (of course), I am always reminded of the words of Donald Trump in 2018 when he referred to Haiti as a “shithole” country when he questioned why America needed more immigrants from these countries instead of from places like Norway. Of course, the preference for white immigrants is not a new one, as demonstrated by the negligence of black immigrants in spaces where discussions of immigration take place.

Despite being used during the Cold War to label nations that were unaligned with the U.S. and its allies, there is no doubt that “third-world” became and continues to be a way that I have seen Americans attempt to degrade countries outside their own. Therefore, I have begun to question the following:

If American politicians/people despise the ways of third-world countries so much, why are these same people overturning laws/voting to overturn laws whose non-existence would align the U.S. with the conditions of said countries?

On the island of Hispaniola, both DR and Haiti have declared abortions illegal in all forms, therefore, I would have thought that American leaders would do everything in their power to differ from these “shithole” countries and assure that their own does not impose these conditions on their own women. They won’t, though, because American leaders share the same sexist ideals that the leaders of these other countries do.

When I first asked my mother about what she knew about abortions in DR, she spoke of them so casually that she was just sure they were legal. She said it so surely that I had to double-check if I was correct myself, since I’ve always known DR to be heavily anti-abortion.

It wasn’t misinformation that made her so sure this time, it was the rate at which she saw and heard abortions taking place. Abortions were illegal in the entirety of the island, except for the parts in which poor women had no choice but to undergo unsafe ones in the hands of people that were not even close to being medical professionals.

Abortions are illegal EVERYWHERE in DR, but they happen EVERYWHERE in DR.

“When I had him in my hands, it didn’t register. What was I to do now?”

My mother was only two months away from turning 15 when she had to give birth to my older brother. She said her pregnancy consisted of despair and guilt, as she was raised by a Catholic mother and nuns who scolded her for being pregnant, and even went as far to say that she was an embarrassment to her sisters.

“That scolding,” she said, “is one of the reasons why I believe these young mothers commit suicide so often.”

It didn’t surprise me to hear that her mother, a strict, God-fearing woman who disagreed with abortions in public, told her to get an abortion immediately as a response to her pregnancy. This was impossible, though, because receiving an abortion from someone who was not licensed meant risking her life. This, then, was the reason why so many pregnant, young women would try home remedies to receive abortions alongside poverty. Because contraceptives were so expensive, the clandestine alternatives had to be extreme.

One of the most terrifying consisted of boiling dark jeans in water because of the chemicals they would release, then drinking it. Another was milk with annatto, the seeds of the achiote tree. Cyotec was another alternative, a medication that you look up and one of the first things you see is that it is not recommended for pregnant women, as “This medication may be harmful to an unborn child.” Next to this warning, you’ll see “related” drugs like Mifepristone and Dinoprostone, both of which are used to cause abortions.

When I asked my mother how many women she knew that have gotten abortions, her response went well into the hundreds from ages 13 and older. One of the things that I found most interesting is when I asked if her mother also had to give birth young, and she said no, that she had her first child at around 18 or 19.

“But isn’t that young, too?”

“In comparison to the ages most of us get pregnant, some would say she got pregnant too late.”

Sex education in DR, similar to many parts of the U.S. and other countries, simply does not suffice and is not supported by the Dominican government. Although it is said that there have been efforts to further sex education on the island, too many young girls are still lectured with surface level sex-ed. “Don’t have sex. Don’t talk to boys. Condoms are a thing. We don’t talk about sex.” This was the only information my mother got about sex, and continues to be the few words young girls still get about sex today. Talking about sex was like cussing in front of your parents, a taboo topic you were not to talk about until you had no choice but to give birth.

When conservatives today go on their pro-life tangents, they ignore very common possibilities like birth as a result of rape or incest, something that they say are uncommon myths made by leftists to support murder. To pretend like these things don’t happen further proves how little the intent of overturning Roe v. Wade was to protect women, but more so to restrict them.

My mother recalled a young woman she knew who was impregnated by her own father, yet in order to protect him, her mother kicked her out while pregnant. This is why, amongst many other reasons, I believe that it is almost impossible to talk about abortion rights in DR without acknowledging how anti-abortion laws are heavily influenced by machismo, “exaggerated pride in masculinity, perceived as power, often coupled with a minimal sense of responsibility and disregard of consequences.”-www.britannica.com

It does not take much to notice that these young girls are getting pregnant by men much older than them, making pedophilia a huge issue that intersects with young pregnancy. It is too common for Dominican families to disown young pregnant women, but not common enough for them to disown the grown men that take advantage of them. Even here, there are American men who are well aware of how loose laws of statutory rape and consent are in other countries and make trips to islands like DR to prey on young girls.

A well known case of the mistreatment of young pregnant women amongst Dominicans is the case of Emely Peguero, a 16-year-old who was confirmed to be five months pregnant when her remains were found in a suitcase on the side of a road in 2017. When tests returned, it was confirmed that her uterus was punctured from a botched abortion and was hit on the head. Her boyfriend, Marlon Martinez, 19, and his mother, Marlon invited local reporters to express concern over her disappearance. It is important to note that Marlon was a U.S. citizen who could afford a lavish life that was unfamiliar to Emely. This is a common tactic many older men use to prey on younger girls in DR, which is to take advantage of their impoverished conditions and promise them a better life under their control. When Emely got pregnant, she feared getting an abortion because of the religious implications and the knowledge that she had about the dangers of abortion pills. She also knew that if she used them, there existed the possibility of jail time or death. In a country where the Catholic Church holds too much power over the laws that are carried out, it becomes obvious that one of the main reasons as to why abortion laws have gotten stricter is due to religious cross-sections in government.

It was when suspicions grew about Marlon and his mother being suspects in the case that officials traced Emely’s phone to the house of Marlin’s mother. After both Marlon and his mother turned themselves in to be “help” to the police, Marlon admitted to the murder and both were found guilty after blood was found in his mother’s apartment and Emely’s decomposing body was found in a suitcase. It was also revealed that Marlon made Emely drink an unknown liquid to cause an abortion, then proceeded to kill her with the help of his mother after. Emely’s story is the product of when legislation is made to care less about the safety of young women, but will go above and beyond to create a safe space for predators to impregnate young women without suffering the consequence. Marlon impregnated a minor, made her get an illegal abortion, and then ended her life to liberate himself of the aftermath.

Although her tragic death created the “Todos Somos Emely” (We are all Emely) movement in DR, Dominican politicians seem to be more concerned with the errors of Haiti when asked why they believe DR is experiencing a constant downfall. This is similar to the way in which American politicians are more concerned with limiting the rights of women and not concerned with how hard they are working to silence unions, how little time we have before the effects of climate change are irreversible (although it has drastically impacted underrepresented groups), or how certain states are trying to adjust the history books your children read to free themselves from taking responsibility for their wrongdoings of the past and present.

Currently, there are ill-informed young women being told that their forced pregnancy is “God-willing” in both DR and in the U.S. They are not being told about their own bodies from education before they are told about them from washed up politicians whose only concerns lie within what benefits them.

It saddens me to see politicians of the Democratic Party give their empty prayers for a future in which Roe V Wade is secured, as if they did not have the time to put in efforts to codify it and scrap the filibuster that halted its progress before it was overturned. If action is not taken soon, the U.S. is headed in the same direction that it so heavily criticizes third-world countries for being in. It’s been time to support women beyond infographics on Instagram. Listen to the voices and stories of the women in your life and organize accordingly.

To the young Dominicans who will (or won’t) raise young women in the future: be better than your elders. Rather than shame your daughters for their sexuality, teach them the dangers and assure that you’ve created an environment in which they can talk to you about sexuality comfortably. Support law reform that promises their safety. Teach them that no pregnancy is “God-willing” if there is no choice. The conclusions of generational curses depend on us.

For Emely Peguero’s Full Story:

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/rossalyn/abortion-murder-dominican-republic-emely-peguero