Long-Acting Reversible Contraception (Larc): ideal solution for pandemic times?

Abstract

The article discusses a very frequent correlation noticed from the outbreak of the Covid19 pandemic in the world and in Brazil, that is, a greater openness and encouragement of Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptive methods (Larc) as a result of the social restrictions brought by the health crisis. In
a certain way, the severity of the pandemic justifies socially and humanitarianly the more systematic use of long-acting methods in an attempt to avoid an unforeseen pregnancy. The anthropological research relies on vast documentary empirical material in order to analyze and understand the social logics underlying these expedients, widely disseminated in contexts of poverty and social precariousness. The expansion of
contraceptive methods in public health systems is always desirable, respecting the reproductive autonomy of women and their freedom to choose and decide what best suits them at a certain moment in their lives. The problem lies in the widespread understanding that not all women are able to choose and decide, and should be ‘counseled’ to accept a long-acting contraception, for medical/health reasons. The blurred boundaries between self-determination and coercion or compulsion force us to reflect upon how risky this gamble can become.