Resumen

PARRA RODRIGUEZ, Laura. “It’s Free but Too Much like Hard Work.” Perceptions Concerning Waiting Times in Women Who Had Abortions during the Second and Third Trimesters in Colombia. Antipod. Rev. Antropol. Arqueol. [online]. 2021, n.42, pp.107-131. ISSN 1900-5407.  https://doi.org/10.7440/antipoda42.2021.05.

This article explores the perceptions concerning waiting times contained in the stories of women who had abortions during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, under the Colombian health care system and the terms of Ruling C-355 of 2006, between 2017 and 2018. A qualitative analysis of the interviews revealed that waiting times allowed the collection of data on the multiple temporalities and the women’s complex relations with these institutions, from the time they entered the Entidades Promotoras de Salud (EPS) until the culmination of their Interrupción Voluntaria del Embarazo -IVE- (Voluntary Pregnancy Termination). This article explores the women's perceptions concerning how long they had to wait, during which time, some of the women interviewed felt that the support they received during pregnancy and abortion was satisfactory, and that the waiting times were appropriate. Others, in contrast, perceived that the institutions did not provide them with the necessary information and imposed excessive waiting times that ignored their needs. The analysis of this experience reveals that the women confronted the institutions, which lost their legitimacy, and that their fear of a septic abortion persisted. At the same time, there is evidence of voluntary expressions of waiting that show a non-unidirectional use of time. This paper contributes to the discussion on women who have abortions and their relationship with the Colombian health system, which establishes admission to the EPS as the only way to access this procedure during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. It is also relevant for studies on temporalities in institutional contexts, as it explores the emergence of voluntary waiting.

Palabras clave : Colombia; legal abortion; second and third trimester of pregnancy; Sentence C-355 of 2006; waiting times.

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