The Zika virus has officially become an STD. Less than 24 hours after WHO declared Zika a global health emergency, this new development is alarming - the first recorded case of Zika  in the US is believed to have been transmitted through sex and not a mosquito bite.

Although its symptoms are fairly similar to the flu virus, Zika is believed to pose a serious threat to pregnant women. Linked to a dramatic spike in birth defects in thousands of babies across South America, there is currently no vaccine to prevent the disease from spreading.

As well as advising people to use insect repellent, wear long sleeves, keep windows and doors closed and avoid travelling to affected areas, authorities have offered special advice to women: don’t get pregnant.

This is problematic for two reasons.

First of all, why does the advice treat women as though they are solely responsible for "getting pregnant"? Women do not simply "get pregnant" on their own, so why are governments not also encouraging men to take precautionary measures?

Second of all, in a lot of the countries where Zika is rife, birth control is deliberately difficult to come by.

Colombia, El Salvador, Jamaica and Puerto Rico have all discouraged women from getting pregnant. Yet all of these countries have strict controls over contraception and a hardline stance against abortion.

Out of this group, El Salvador is the only country where abortion is completely illegal; in the remaining countries, the right to abortion is only granted in certain circumstances - such as if the woman has been raped or if the procedure could save her life. In Colombia, abortion is also permissible in the case of foetal abnormality.

El Salvador’s deputy health minister has suggested women avoid pregnancy for two years. Birth control and condoms are legal in El Salvador, but the Pill is only available on prescription from particular locations, and weak government subsidies do little to lower the price of condoms, making them unaffordable for the poorest women.

Strict limitations on contraception drive women to more drastic tactics to avoid pregnancy. At least 30% of women of childbearing age in El Salvador have opted for permanent sterilisation as a form of birth control. To avoid pushing even more women to irreversible forms of contraception, will El Salvador loosen its rigid stance and give women more control over their bodies?

The Zika virus throws up a dilemma for many Latin American societies. In Brazil, abortion remains illegal in most cases. The country has already seen thousands of confirmed cases of microcephaly, the birth defect believed to be tied to Zika. In light of this crisis, a group of lawyers, scientists, and activists have launched a campaign to legalise abortion for women who have contracted the virus.

Any changes will raise serious ethical questions that must be addressed. Is it fair to assume that the risk of having a disabled child should automatically lead women to consider an abortion?  Still, it’s a paradox that the governments actively encouraging women to avoid all pregnancies are the ones who have made it difficult for women to prevent unwanted pregnancies through contraception. With Latin America worst hit by by the Zika virus, the urgency to solve the crisis will require concrete measures to support women and their future offspring. The outbreak highlights major tensions in conservative attitudes towards family planning -- an issue that is not simply a gender issue, but a human rights issue too.

This article includes discussion of reproductive rights. The UN considers such issues to be human rights issues, but not all partners involved in Global Citizen agree with this position, and therefore this article should not be considered to express the views of all groups involved with Global Citizen.