Abstract

BUSTOS, BÁRBARA. REGULATING THE PLACENTA IN CHILE. ANTHROPOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS ON PUBLIC POLICIES AND HEALTH LEGISLATION. Maguare [online]. 2021, vol.35, n.2, pp.127-160.  Epub Mar 23, 2023. ISSN 0120-3045.  https://doi.org/10.15446/mag.v35n2.98461.

The Chilean health system has proposed a regulatory modification that allows giving back the placenta to indigenous and non-indigenous women. In this article I reflect on State rationalities that underlie this process and the role of anthropology in addressing public policies for indigenous peoples. Based on my professional experience as an anthropologist in the Public Policies Division of the Ministry of Health of Chile, I suggest that beyond State institutions, their formality and technical-political discourses protected by scientific language, decisions and arguments are based on values and moral principles. Drawing from field notes, participation in meetings, interactions with public officials, and revision of documents, I propose that the modification of a regulatory norm is not only an administrative act but also a scenario where contradictory, subjective, and heterogeneous practices are expressed, and that these practices intervene on how we participate in society.

Keywords : anthropology; disciplinary training; indigenous peoples; intercultural health; placenta; public policies; scientific evidence; values and moral arguments.

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