Reproductive rights in Latin America seen a steady increase of feminist abortion activists, despite religion making the issue taboo. Even when legislation has become more lenient (as has been the case recently with Mexico City and Chile), women often face institutional barriers to gaining access to abortions. When it comes to reporting data on abortions in Latin America, estimated abortion levels are often heterogeneous and highly variable due to legal frameworks and social stigmas. According to the World Health Organization, in 2008, approximately "4.2 million abortions were conducted in Latin America and the Caribbean, almost three-fourths of them in South America. Virtually all these procedures
The Japanese in Latin America The first chapter is about early Japanese immigration to the United States, Canada, and Hawaii. The second chapter discusses Japanese society in the 1800s, including the Meiji Era, and beyond up until the signing of the 1908 gentleman's agreement between the United States and Japan, which restricted Japanese immigration. With the United States out of reach, Japanese immigrants began immigrating to Latin America, and the second chapter also discusses the first wave of Japanese immigration to Latin America. The third chapter discusses the Latin American communities formed between 1908 and 1937 that were among the larger ones in Latin America.