U.N.: Zika-affected nations must increase contraception access

Countries with Zika outbreaks must repeal restrictive laws that limit access to contraception and abortion, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said Friday.

Latin American governments' advice to delay pregnancy in the wake of serious birth defects linked to the virus "ignores the reality that many women and girls simply cannot exercise control over whether or when or under what circumstances they become pregnant," Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said in a statement.

A spike in birth defects in Brazil linked to Zika prompted Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador and Jamaica to recommend women delay pregnancy until doctors understand more about the virus. El Salvador issued the strongest warning, urging women not to conceive for two years.

Zika Q&A: What to know about efforts to fight the virus, conspiracy theories

In many Latin American and Caribbean countries, basic contraception, such as birth control pills and IUDs, is in short supply. The Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Nicaragua ban all abortions, according to a report released Tuesday by Kaiser Family Foundation. Six others — Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Paraguay, Suriname and Venezuela — allow abortion only to save a woman’s life.

Zika highlights lack of access to contraception, abortion in Latin America

“In Zika-affected countries that have restrictive laws governing women’s reproductive rights, the situation facing women and girls is particularly stark on a number of levels,” Al Hussein said. "In situations where sexual violence is rampant, and sexual and reproductive health services are criminalized, or simply unavailable, efforts to halt this crisis will not be enhanced by placing the focus on advising women and girls not to become pregnant."

The World Health Organization declared the outbreak — which is taking place in at least 25 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean — a "public health emergency of international concern."

The mosquito-borne Zika virus is causing international concern because of its link to microcephaly, a rare birth defect in which babies are born with unusually small heads and incomplete brain development. Babies born with the condition may develop convulsions and suffer physical and learning disabilities as they grow older, according to the World Health Organization.