(Bogota) The Constitutional Court of Colombia on Monday decriminalized abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, an unprecedented decision in this predominantly Catholic country and which comes in a context of liberalization of the termination of pregnancy in Latin America.
Posted at 7:49 p.m.
In its judgment, the Constitutional Court authorizes women to have recourse to abortion for any reason up to 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 24and week of gestation,” 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.
Hundreds of pro and anti-abortion protesters gathered outside the Constitutional Court.
Pro-abortion activists, who sported green sashes, celebrated the 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 the mayor of the capital, Claudia Lopez, on Twitter.
Colombia, with a Catholic majority and where the Protestant Christian churches exercise great influence, thus becomes the fifth in Latin America to relax the conditions for access to abortion.
This practice is already authorized in Argentina, Uruguay, Cuba and Guyana.
In Mexico, it is legal for up to 12 weeks in the states of Oaxaca (south), Veracruz (east), Hidalgo (center) and Mexico City.
“Colombia is at the forefront of reproductive rights, both regionally and globally,” said lawyer Catalina Martínez, of the Causa Justa movement, which initiated the legal challenge for the unconstitutionality of the offense of abortion.
The Court ruled by five votes to four in favor of this decision.