Ecuador and Colombia Loosen Restrictions on Abortion
Women in Bogota celebrate in the wake of the ruling that makes abortions legal in Colombia. Photo: Luisa Gonzalez/Reuters
Ecuador’s National Assembly voted to approve the decriminalization of abortions for pregnancies caused by rape. In addition, anyone over 18 can get an abortion within 12 weeks, while children are allowed 18 weeks. This 75-41 vote is a major step forward for womens’ rights, and is a snowball effect from April of last year, when the constitutional court chose decriminalization.
Abortions in Ecuador have been legal since 1983, but only in certain cases, like when the mother’s life is in danger or if the woman is both a rape victim and intellectually disabled. This new legislation broadens the opportunities available, but the country’s conservative president Guillermo Lasso could be a potential roadblock, and individual doctors are still allowed to reject abortion requests.
The feminist group Trenzando Feminismos aproximates around 21,000 abortions per year in Ecuador, many of them illegal and dangerous. The goal is to decrease that number, but some worry that changes in restrictions will not be enough. Sarahi Maldonado of Las Comadres laments that “the assembly has once again failed girls, women, survivors and victims of sexual violence. They put in more barriers so girls are obliged to give birth and seek illegal abortions.”
More recently, in Colombia, the supreme court voted 5-4 to decriminalize abortions within the first 24 weeks. The Causa Justa umbrella group first presented the lawsuit. Previously, abortions could only occur if there were risks for the mother’s health, fetal malformation, or instances of rape or incest.
Of Colombia’s 400,000 abortions each year, 90 percent are clandestine. In 2020, the country saw 26,223 abortions that ended in either injury or death.
Many took to the streets to celebrate the victory. “We applaud the constitutional court’s legal and political courage in recognising that women and girls are not second-class citizens. In constitutionally protecting our autonomy over our own bodies and lives, the court is changing the lives of millions of vulnerable women and girls disproportionally harmed by abortion restrictions,” said Paula Avila-Guillen, an international human rights lawyer.
Women celebrate Colombia's constitutional court decision to decriminalize abortion until 24 weeks of gestation, in Bogota, Colombia. Photo: Luisa Gonzalez/Reuters
At the same time, anti-abortion groups criticized the decision. Ex-President Alvaro Uribe took to Twitter to claim that “this ruling deeply offends the highest group of [Colombian] citizens.” The current president, Ivan Dunque announced, “I’m pro-life. I believe life starts at conception.” An IPSOS poll last year found that 60 percent of the population supports the change, but only a quarter believe in full, unregulated choice over abortions.
Latin American countries tend to be more traditionally conservative and Catholic, which partially explains the stigma towards abortion. Many women have been jailed for miscarriages or illegal abortions. The Guttmacher Institute has found that around 760,000 women are injured due to unsafe abortions each year — in Latin America, these make up about one in ten maternal deaths.
Ecuador and Colombia are two countries within a larger pattern. Several other Latin American nations have recently increased the number of days to allow abortion, and others have legalized or decriminalized certain cases of rape or incest. This trend is partially due to the Green Wave of protests and pressure created by abortion rights groups.