In a judgment handed down Monday, February 21, the Colombian Constitutional Court authorized women to have recourse to abortion for any reason until the sixth month of gestation.
Until now, this was only authorized in the event of rape, if the health of the mother was in danger or when the fetus presented a malformation compromising its survival, according to a 2006 judgment of the Court, which provided for the conscientious objection for doctors who did not want to terminate a pregnancy.
Apart from these exceptions, women who had recourse to abortion were liable to a prison sentence of 16 to 54 months. From now on, “the act of abortion will only be punishable if it is performed after the 24e gestation week », the Constitutional Court said in a statement. After six months of pregnancy, the conditions already set by the court will remain in place, the magistrates said.
“Historic decision”
Hundreds of pro and anti-abortion protesters gathered outside the Constitutional Court. The former, who wore a green scarf, celebrated this historic decision. For their part, the opponents waved blue flags and prayed on their knees.
“After the right to vote, this is the most important historic decision for the life, autonomy and full and equal development of women”welcomed on Twitter the mayor of the capital, Claudia Lopez.
What a thrill to have lived to finally see this achievement for women in Colombia! After the right to vote,… https://t.co/fihDAGOQ9t
Colombia, with a Catholic majority and where the Protestant Christian churches exercise great influence, thus becomes the fifth country in Latin America to relax the conditions for access to abortion, after Argentina, Uruguay, Cuba and Guyana. In Mexico, it is legal for up to twelve weeks in the states of Oaxaca, Veracruz, Hidalgo and Mexico City.
“Colombia is at the forefront of reproductive rights, both regionally and globally”, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) lawyer Catalina Martínez, of the Causa Justa movement, at the origin of the legal challenge for the unconstitutionality of the offense of abortion. The Court ruled by five votes to four in favor of this decision.