UN: Zika Nations Must Allow Birth Control

The United Nations said Friday that nations hit by the Zika epidemic should allow access to contraception and abortion. Many of the predominantly Catholic Latin American countries where the epidemic is at its worst have extremely restrictive birth-control legislation; in El Salvador, women convicted of having an abortion face prison terms. Because the virus is linked to serious birth defects, several nations have asked women to avoid pregnancy during the outbreak. “How can they ask these women not to become pregnant, but not offer... the possibility to stop their pregnancies?” said Cecile Pouilly, a UN human-rights official.