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Colombia Court Lets Stand Abortion Status Quo: Illegal, With 3 Exceptions Colombia Court Keeps Restrictive Abortion Law in Place
(about 4 hours later)
BOGOTÁ, Colombia — A top court in Colombia declined to legalize abortion on Monday, in a highly anticipated decision that abortion rights supporters had hoped would herald a shift in Latin America, encouraging other nations in the region to liberalize their laws. BOGOTÁ, Colombia — A top court in Colombia declined to legalize abortion on Monday, disappointing abortion rights supporters who had hoped the case would herald a shift in Latin America and encourage other nations in the region to liberalize their laws.
In Colombia, the court’s decision to take the case — and to consider legalization — had reopened a fierce debate about abortion, and whether the government or individuals should get to decide when a woman ends her pregnancy. More broadly, international groups had been watching the case as a marker for where Latin America could go on the issue. “The court lost an opportunity,” said Mariana Ardila, a lawyer who was pushing for legalization, “to change the lives of women.”
The announcement was a partial victory for abortion opponents, including the Catholic Church and evangelical groups, who argue that a fetus must be protected from conception. But the court did not go as far as creating a ban on the practice — which is what had been requested by a law professor who brought the case to the court. But also disappointed was the fierce abortion opponent who had brought the case, seeking a total ban on all abortions in all instances.
Instead, Colombia’s Constitutional Court, among the most liberal in the region, and widely regarded as a legal trendsetter, decided to maintain a system it laid out in a 2006 decision, which allows for a woman to have an abortion in three circumstances: when her life is at stake, when a fetus has serious health problems and when her pregnancy resulted from rape. In the end, Colombia’s Constitutional Court declined to rule at all, leaving in place the country’s status quo: Abortion remains illegal, with three exceptions.
The case had raised hopes among abortion rights supporters when a proposed ruling by one of the court’s more liberal members, Alejandro Linares, was leaked to the news media.
Judge Linares favored legalizing abortion in the first four months of pregnancy, arguing in part that obligating a woman to have a child forces her to give control of her body to others, including the state, according to parts of his proposed ruling that were reported in the Colombian news media.
But on Monday, Colombia’s Constitutional Court neither legalized nor banned the practice outright, with six of the court’s nine judges voting not to rule on the case.
This non-decision kept in place a 2006 ruling made by the court, which allows for a woman to have an abortion in three circumstances: when her life is at stake, when a fetus has serious health problems and when her pregnancy resulted from rape.
The court’s initial decision to take the case — and to at least consider legalization — set off a fierce debate about abortion in Colombia, and whether the government or individuals should get to decide when a woman can end her pregnancy. More broadly, international groups had been watching the case as a marker for where Latin America might go on the issue.
The region’s strong Catholic traditions have led to some of the world’s most restrictive laws, but movements demanding greater reproductive rights and more protection for women have spread from country to country, building upon each other. If the court had legalized abortion, it would have made Colombia the largest and most influential country in Latin America to permit the practice.The region’s strong Catholic traditions have led to some of the world’s most restrictive laws, but movements demanding greater reproductive rights and more protection for women have spread from country to country, building upon each other. If the court had legalized abortion, it would have made Colombia the largest and most influential country in Latin America to permit the practice.
The center of the fight over abortion in Latin America is now likely to move to Argentina, where lawmakers are considering legalization. An effort there last year to allow women to end their pregnancies upon request was defeated, but this time, the bill has the full support of the new president. The case before the court had been brought by Natalia Bernal, a Colombian law professor who lives in France and who argued that abortion amounts to a form of torture and violates the rights of women and unborn children.
The Colombian court’s decision comes not from a case brought by an abortion rights advocate, but from a fierce opponent of the practice, Natalia Bernal. Ms. Bernal, a law professor who lives in France, had begun studying abortion in 2014, mostly by connecting with American anti-abortion groups. But instead, Judge Linares, based on his proposed ruling that was widely reported in the Colombian press, wanted to use the case as an opportunity to push for legalizing the procedure for any woman during the first 16 weeks of pregnancy.
Over time, she said, she became convinced that the practice was wrong in all cases. Last year, she requested that the court review its 2006 decision and eliminate the few exceptions in existing law that allow for legal abortions. But the court decided to take a more expansive look at the practice, including whether existing limitations violated women’s rights by forcing them to share control of their bodies with others, including the state. In the end, a majority of the court said it could not rule on the case before it, calling Ms. Bernal’s petition one of “substantial ineptitude” and saying she had “not presented sufficient arguments” to merit reconsidering the court’s past decisions.
The decision’s impact could have rippled across Latin America. Colombia, with about 50 million people, is not only among the most populous and culturally influential nations in the region, but its Constitutional Court is often considered a leader when it comes to defining individual rights. A 2016 ruling by the court legalized gay marriage in Colombia. Three judges, including Judge Linares, voted against the decision not to rule, and wrote dissenting opinions in favor of legalizing abortion.
Its rulings, however, have sometimes clashed with the country’s more conservative attitudes. The president, Iván Duque, has said that while he approved of the 2006 decision to allow abortion in some cases, he did not favor going further. The court’s action leaves the door open for judges to consider legalization — or a complete ban — in the future. And activists on both sides said they would not give up.
“We’ll keeping fighting,” said Liliana Nuñez, 40, a doctor who opposes abortion and was protesting outside the courthouse on Monday.
Wendy Calderon, 28, a social worker, had joined a group of abortion rights advocates just across the street.
“We are not pushing for everyone to have an abortion,” she said. “What we’re demanding is the right to decide.”
Before the court’s announcement, hundreds of abortion rights supporters and opponents faced off outside the court’s towering yellow brick building.
“Yes to life,” shouted one group, pushing for a ban.
“Yes to abortion,” responded other demonstrators, calling for legalization.
Those opposed to abortion rights wore blue and flew balloons shaped like babies. Abortion rights supporters wore green and carried drums.
If the court had ruled to legalize abortion, the decision could have rippled across Latin America.
Colombia, with about 50 million people, is not only among the most populous and culturally influential nations in the region, but its Constitutional Court is often considered a leader when it comes to defining individual rights. A 2016 ruling by the court legalized gay marriage in Colombia.
Its often liberal rulings, however, have sometimes clashed with the country’s more conservative attitudes. The president, Iván Duque, has said that while he approved of the 2006 decision to allow abortion in some cases, he did not favor going further.
With the Colombian court’s non-decision, the center of the fight over abortion in Latin America is now likely to move to Argentina, where lawmakers are considering legalization. An effort there last year to allow women to end pregnancy upon request was defeated, but this time, the bill has the full support of the country’s new leader, President Alberto Fernández.
Just a few places in Latin America have legalized abortions: Uruguay, Guyana, Cuba, Mexico City and the Mexican State of Oaxaca. Several Central American countries ban the practice.Just a few places in Latin America have legalized abortions: Uruguay, Guyana, Cuba, Mexico City and the Mexican State of Oaxaca. Several Central American countries ban the practice.
Abortion rights advocates have long said that the current setup in Colombia makes it exceedingly difficult for many women to get abortions, because doctors often refuse to perform the procedure by asserting that a woman does not meet any of the requirements. Abortion rights advocates have long said that the current legal situation in Colombia makes it exceedingly difficult for many women to get abortions. Doctors, they say, often refuse to perform the procedure by asserting that a woman does not meet any of the requirements.
Unsanctioned abortions are still common in Colombia, and according to the country’s health ministry, they cause about 70 deaths a year.Unsanctioned abortions are still common in Colombia, and according to the country’s health ministry, they cause about 70 deaths a year.
Jenny Carolina González contributed reporting.