Colombia legalises abortion in move celebrated as ‘historic victory’ by campaigners

Colombia has decriminalised abortion during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, following rulings in Mexico and Argentina that improve access to abortion

Joe Parkin Daniels, The Guardian
Tue 22 Feb 2022

Colombia has decriminalised abortion during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, adding to a recent string of legal victories for reproductive rights in Latin America.

The South American country’s constitutional court ruled five against four to decriminalise the procedure on Monday evening. The decision follows a series of rulings in Mexico and Argentina that lowered barriers to abortion.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/feb/22/colombia-legalises-abortion-in-move-celebrated-as-historic-victory-by-campaigners

Celebrations before new challenges after Colombia legalizes abortion

February 22, 2022
By Irene Escudero, La Prensa Latina

Bogotá, Feb 22 (EFE).- The emotion of the Colombian Constitutional Court’s historic decision to decriminalize abortion up to 24 weeks continued Tuesday with celebrations of those who pushed for the change, along with the realization of the challenges that lie ahead.

Again in front of the headquarters of the court in Bogotá, but this time without the nerves accumulated during the more than 500 days spent waiting for the decision, more than 100 young women, with their characteristic green scarves, chanted: “It’s legal, it’s legal, abortion in Colombia is legal.”

Continued: https://www.laprensalatina.com/celebrations-before-new-challenges-after-colombia-legalizes-abortion/

Colombia judges split on removing abortion from penal code

January 20, 2022
By Julia Symmes Cobb

BOGOTA, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Eight judges from Colombia's constitutional court were evenly split on Thursday over whether abortion should be eliminated from the penal code, the coalition of pro-choice groups which brought the long-running lawsuit said.

Abortion was partially legalized in Colombia under a 2006 ruling that allows it in cases of rape, fatal fetal deformity, and health of the mother.

Continued: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/colombia-judges-split-removing-abortion-penal-code-2022-01-21/

20.01.2022

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Catalina Martínez Coral

Causa Justa

Center for Reproductive Rights

Colombian Constitutional Court

decriminalization of abortion

imprisoning women for abortion

’The court owes it to women’: Groups decry Colombia’s abortion ruling delay

The Constitutional Court had been expected to make history Friday, but it didn't happen. Unsafe abortions are the country's fourth-leading cause of maternal mortality.

Nov. 23, 2021

By Albinson Linares, Noticias Telemundo

Women's groups that sued to decriminalize abortion in Colombia are pushing for
a decision after a much-anticipated ruling from the country's top court was
postponed last week.

“The court owes it to women," Catalina Martínez Coral, the Latin America
and Caribbean director of the Center for Reproductive Rights, told Noticias
Telemundo.

Continued: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/-court-owes-women-groups-decry-colombias-abortion-ruling-delay-rcna6477

‘Saving millions of lives’: Abortion could be decriminalised in Colombia in next month

‘Many women in Colombia are forced to have their rapist’s baby,’ says lawyer

Maya Oppenheim, Women’s Correspondent
Oct 30, 2021

Abortion could be decriminalised in Colombia in the next month as landmark decisions to legalise pregnancy terminations in Latin America have a “ripple effect” across the region, campaigners said.

Colombia decriminalised pregnancy terminations for women whose life or health is at risk, or in cases where there are fatal foetal abnormalities, or if the pregnancy is the by-product of rape or incest, back in 2006.

Continued: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/abortion-colombia-constitutional-court-decriminalised-b1947814.html?r=2891

Colombia was close to legalizing abortion. Instead, a top court kept restrictions in place.

Colombia was close to legalizing abortion. Instead, a top court kept restrictions in place.

By Miriam Berger
March 3, 2020

Colombia’s constitutional court ruled Monday to keep the country’s abortion restrictions in place, dashing the hopes of activists pushing for a decision that could have made it the first and most populous state in Latin America to legalize abortions during the first 16 weeks of a pregnancy.

The decision “was a missed opportunity to stand on the right side of history to provide Colombian women and girls safe access to abortion,” human rights lawyer Paula Avila-Guillen said in a statement. She described the current law as “poorly regulated and rarely implemented,” such that for “women who have been victims of sexual abuse or face economic barriers, access to abortion is almost impossible, which puts their lives at risk.

Continued: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/03/03/colombia-was-close-legalizing-abortion-instead-top-court-kept-restrictions-place/

Colombia Court Keeps Restrictive Abortion Law in Place

Colombia Court Keeps Restrictive Abortion Law in Place
Abortion rights advocates had hoped that a top court might legalize the procedure and herald a shift in Latin America. Instead, it left abortion illegal in most cases.

By Julie Turkewitz
March 2, 2020

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.

“The court lost an opportunity,” said Mariana Ardila, a lawyer who was pushing for legalization, “to change the lives of women.”

Continued : https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/02/world/americas/colombia-abortion.html

02.03.2020

Colombian Constitutional Court

Abortion access will not expand in Colombia, court rules

Abortion access will not expand in Colombia, court rules

Colombian court shuts down landmark abortion case, but renews debate on legalisation, women's rights activists say.
by Megan Janetsky
Mar 2, 2020

Bogota - Colombia's Constitutional Court shut down a landmark abortion case on Monday that divided the South American country and offered what experts called an opportunity to "set a precedent for the region".

For 14 years, Colombian law allowed for abortions under three circumstances: if the mother's life was endangered, if the pregnancy was a product of rape or if the fetus is fatally deformed.

Continued: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/abortion-access-won-expand-colombia-court-rules-200302233612742.html

02.03.2020

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An Anti-Abortion Activist Tried to Make Colombia’s Abortion Law More Restrictive. Here’s Why That Could Backfire

An Anti-Abortion Activist Tried to Make Colombia's Abortion Law More Restrictive. Here's Why That Could Backfire

By Ciara Nugent
February 19, 2020

A case brought to Colombia’s top court by anti-abortion campaigner Natalia Bernal Cano could transform the country’s abortion law when the verdict is announced in the next few weeks – but perhaps not in the way she hoped.

Since a 2006 ruling by Colombia’s powerful Constitutional Court, women have been allowed to terminate a pregnancy in cases of rape or incest, fatal fetal abnormality, or danger to the physical or mental health of the mother.

Continued: https://time.com/5786500/colombia-abortion-ruling/

Colombia to decide on historic abortion ruling

Colombia to decide on historic abortion ruling

ELLA TORRES
February 16, 2020

Fourteen years after Colombia's landmark decision to legalize abortions in some cases, the country is once more bracing itself for a historic vote.

The Colombian Constitutional Court has until Feb. 19th to decide whether it will legalize abortion for pregnancies up to 12 weeks. The current law allows for abortion in only three instances: if the mother's life is at risk, if a fetus is malformed or if the pregnancy is a result of rape.

This is the "first real opportunity to actually advance reproductive rights," according to Paula Avila-Guillen, the director of Latin America Initiatives for the Women's Equality Center.

Continued: https://news.yahoo.com/colombia-decide-historic-abortion-ruling-120633539--abc-news-topstories.html