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May 11, 2006
Latina woman
Under Colombia’s previous penal code provision, abortion had been outlawed in all circumstances, and both the woman and provider could be sentenced to up to four years in prison.
Photo courtesy of IndexOpen.

In a landmark decision on May 10, Colombia’s constitutional court decriminalized abortion in certain circumstances, easing the country’s previous ban on the procedure.

Virginia Chambers, regional director of Latin America and Caribbean programs at Ipas, said, “This is a great step in recognition of international women’s rights. We hope that women’s lives will be saved as a result of this law.”

According to the ruling, abortions will now be permitted in cases of rape, fetal malformation, or when the life or health of the mother or fetus is in danger. Under Colombia’s previous penal code provision, the procedure had been outlawed in all circumstances, and both the woman and provider could be sentenced to up to four years in prison.

Ipas, which works to reduce unsafe abortion in Latin America and worldwide, helped Mónica Roa, the Colombian attorney who filed the case, to publicize her work. It also provided technical assistance and included her at regional workshops where her ideas and strategies could serve as tools for other reproductive-health advocates and stakeholders.

Roa, also program director at Women’s Link Worldwide, said in a press release: “I can say that our work is not done. We must educate people as to the meaning of this decision and work with all of the branches of government so that when a woman first comes forward needing a legal abortion, she will be able to exercise this right.

Ipas’s Chambers said, “This is an example of what one very determined individual can do,” explaining Colombia is the rare country where one person can present a case directly to the high court.

Yet Ipas believes that the ruling will serve as a precedent for the region. Latin American countries continue to have some of the world’s harshest abortion laws; two — Chile and El Salvador — prohibit abortion altogether.

But across Latin America, there is increased recognition that lack of access to abortion is a human-rights issue, and Roa’s victory strengthens this link. She has consistently argued that banning abortion violates international agreements that protect an individual’s reproductive autonomy and the Colombian constitution, which protects the rights to life, health and dignity.

“I think the decision will prompt discussions throughout the region about the constitutionality of [restrictive abortion laws] and gender equity,” Chambers said. “And I think it will cause some countries to do some real soul-searching about why their laws are so punitive toward women.”

It’s estimated that as many as 400,000 illegal abortions are performed each year in Colombia, the majority being performed under unsanitary conditions by unskilled providers.

For more information, contact:
Kirsten Sherk
Senior Associate, Media Relations
e-mail: sherkk@ipas.org
phone: 919.960.5612
fax: 919.929.0258