Latin American country makes landmark abortion ruling

Colombia’s Constitutional Court has decriminalized abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy

Colombia has decriminalized abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, the country’s Constitutional Court ruled on Monday. Previously, termination was only allowed in cases of rape, if the health of the mother was in danger, or if the fetus had a fatal condition.

“The performance of an abortion will only be punishable when it is carried out after the 24th week of gestation,” the court said in the ruling. After the established time frame, the procedure is only allowed under the three conditions mentioned, as per a 2006 judicial decision.

If an abortion is performed after 24 weeks and for a reason other than the three circumstances permitted, the woman and doctors who conducted the procedure could face a prison sentence of between 16 and 54 months.

Ahead of the ruling, both pro- and anti-abortion campaigners gathered outside the court in the country’s capital of Bogota. Scenes of celebration were visible among the pro-abortion activists when the ruling was announced, while anti-abortion demonstrators knelt in prayer on the ground.

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“After the right to vote, this is the most important historical achievement for the life, autonomy and full and equal fulfillment of women,” Bogota Mayor Claudia Lopez Hernandes said in response to the court’s judgment.

The decision is a landmark ruling in the majority-Catholic country, with Colombia becoming the fifth Latin American country to decriminalize abortion, after Argentina, Cuba, Guyana and Uruguay.

Causa Justa, an organization that sued Colombia over the unconstitutional criminalization of abortion, claims that around 5,500 investigations have been conducted into alleged abortions since 1998.

According to the group, 250 women were arrested as a result of those investigations. 24 women are currently in prison for having an abortion, the country’s prison authority records show.