The illegal market for gender-related drugs as portrayed in the Brazilian news media : the case of misoprostol and women

Este artigo analisa como a mídia impressa brasileira noticia o comércio clandestino do misoprostol, o principal medicamento para aborto. Foram recuperadas 1.429 notícias, de 220 veículos de informação impressos e eletrônicos, entre 2004 e 2009. A análise foi realizada em 524 notícias de 62 veículos impressos regionais e nacionais. O misoprostol é pauta permanente, mas o enquadramento das notícias é policial, diverso do aborto como uma questão religiosa, política e de saúde pública que domina a mídia brasileira. O misoprostol está inserido no mercado ilegal de medicamentos de gênero, tais como os para emagrecimento, disfunção erétil ou anabolizantes. Sessenta e quatro (12%) notícias impressas apresentam histórias de vida de mulheres que abortaram com o misoprostol. As mulheres têm de 13 a 46 anos e sua inserção de classe demarca diferentes experiências de aborto. Três personagens foram identificados nos itinerários de aborto: amigas, intermediários e médicos. As histórias de aborto tardio são confundidas com a tipificação penal do infanticídio e são casos-limite para a narrativa midiática. ________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTThis article analyzes how the Brazilian news media covers the illegal market for misoprostol, the main drug used to induce abortion. A total of 1,429 news stories were retrieved from 220 print and electronic media channels from 2004 to 2009. The analysis included 524 stories from 62 regional and national newspapers. Misoprostol appeared repeatedly in the news, but was usually approached from a criminal perspective, unlike abortion as a whole, which the Brazilian media routinely covers as a religious, political, and public health issue. Misoprostol is part of the illegal gender-related drug market, along with drugs for weight loss and erectile dysfunction and anabolic steroids. Sixty-four (12%) of the news stories told life histories of women who had aborted with misoprostol. The women’s ages ranged from 13 to 46 years, and socioeconomic status was associated with different experiences with abortion. Three characters appeared in the women’s abortion itineraries: girlfriends (confidantes), go-betweens, and physicians. Stories of late-stage abortion are confused with the criminal characterization of infanticide and provide the extreme cases in the media’s narrative on abortion