A Brazilian judge wants to authorize abortions for women whose children are likely to be stillborn due to microcephaly, a birth defect whose occurrence has skyrocketed in the country and that experts belief might be linked to the recent outbreak of the Zika virus.
The current outbreak of the Zika virus across large swaths of South America presents a public health threat of "alarming proportions" and could affect as many as four million people, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Jan. 28.
The Zika outbreak continues to cause concern around the globe, as an expert decried the lack of information on the virus available in Venezuela. Meanwhile, a Danish hospital confirmed that a tourist had been infected with the disease after visiting southern and central America.
Amid growing concerns about the mosquito-borne Zika virus and associated birth defects, the government of El Salvador is asking its citizens to avoid pregnancies for the next two years.
