November 18th, 2020 – Jimena CAS Journal Entry

CAS Journal Entry #57

Learning Outcome I Talk the Least

Throughout my CAS experience, I believe that the learning outcome which I talk about the least is the “recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions”. Although one of my CAS projects (Proyecto Vida Mujer) deals with this learning outcome on a daily basis due to different perspectives on the matter and cultural differences, I have not really addressed them in my journal entries throughout these 2 years.

For Proyecto Vida Mujer everyone was on board with the project and given the circumstances in the region it was going to bring lots of autonomy and opportunity for women in the area coming from scarce resources. However, something that we noticed is how there are many cultural differences that have inhibited the promotion of this program in Guanacaste. For instance, there is an abundant lack of sex and reproductive health education in the region, where women assume that inserting a copper IUD is immediately linked to having sex and deem it as improper or a sin, thereby considering the program as unethical and barbaric.

At Proyecto Vida Mujer we believe that every woman should have the ability and the accessibility to seek a birth control that best suits her; now, the ones we provide that could help them is the copper IUD. Women are required to sign a waiver before the procedure in order to ensure this is absolutely something that they want and isn’t going against their morals or nobody is obligating them to do it. This independence and autonomy for deciding their form of birth control empower women in this region. By choosing safe birth control women are able to be in control of their future and develop both economically and socially.

Living in a region where there’s an abundance of lack of education has made the development of these projects and clinics very hard. This is due because as a result of the cultural differences and cultural clashes, people spread the word that projects like these are “unethical” or improper when in reality all they’re seeking is to give women accessible reproductive healthcare. Since this project “interferes” with women’s reproductive rights some might argue that it goes against their beliefs or that women shouldn’t give them the right to do so. Although this project has sparked regional debate, it has remained positive to the outcome it brings to women in the region. And as far as we have copper IUDs to donate, we’re going to keep providing them to the women of the zone.