Having Won the Right to Abortion, Colombian Activists Are Pressing Health Facilities to Deliver

In February, Colombia introduced one of the most liberal abortion laws in the world after activists took to the courts – but now their challenge lies in ensuring the health system is in a position to offer terminations.

01/11/2022
Juanita Rico

Not long ago, abortion in Colombia was a taboo topic that could not be mentioned during dinners or family gatherings, according to Florence Thomas, one of Colombia’s feminism most influential voices.

“It was considered such a difficult subject that people would stand up and leave my lectures when I touched upon it,” Thomas told Health Policy Watch.

Continued: https://healthpolicy-watch.news/having-won-the-right-to-abortion-colombian-activists-are-pressing-health-facilities-to-deliver/

01.11.2022

Mesa por la Vida y la Salud de las Mujeres

Mexican, Colombian Supreme Court Justices Discuss Path to Abortion Rights at Petrie-Flom Center Forum

By Julian J. Giordano, Asher J. Montgomery
Oct 24, 2022

Supreme Court justices from Mexico and Colombia, Alfredo Guitérrez Oritz Mena and Natalia Ángel Cabo, discussed abortion rights in their respective countries at a panel hosted on Friday by the Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard Law School.

The panelists discussed decisions issued by the Supreme Courts of both Mexico and Colombia in the last two years that expanded abortion access. In September 2021, the Supreme Court in Mexico ruled in September 2021 that it is unconstitutional to punish abortion as a crime. Colombia’s top court issued a ruling in February that legalized abortion during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Continued: https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2022/10/24/latin-american-abortion-rights-talk/

24.10.2022

Featured

News

Alfredo Guitérrez Oritz Mena

What is the Geneva Consensus, the anti-abortion group from which Colombia withdrew

Currently, more than 30 countries are part of this agreement. Colombia had joined since May 2022

By Nick Quaz
August 23, 2022

The Vice Ministry of Multilateral Affairs of the Foreign Ministry announced this Monday through a statement that the Colombian government officially withdrew from the 'Declaration of the Geneva Consensus', a group of nations that expressly opposed abortion.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hereby informs that the Government of Colombia has decided to rescind its adherence to the Geneva Consensus Declaration as of the date of this communication,” the Foreign Ministry said in a letter.

Continued: https://thegaltimes.com/what-is-the-geneva-consensus-the-anti-abortion-group-from-which-colombia-withdrew/72506/

23.08.2022

Featured

News

Alejandro Ordóñez

Geneva Consensus Declaration

Gustavo Petro

Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development

Colombia

South America

Human Rights

What The Green Scarf Means In The Fight For Reproductive Rights

FRANCES SOLÁ-SANTIAGO
MAY 17, 2022

When a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion in early May revealed that Rove v. Wade will likely be overturned, protests broke out across the country, as activists pushed for lawmakers to codify the landmark decision that protected a pregnant person’s right to choose abortion via the Women’s Health Protection Act. Over the weekend, the New York chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America held a march and called on all the attendees to wear green and “bring your green bandana.” Similar protests were held in cities like Miami and Washington, D.C., where many attendees likewise sported green scarves on their wrists and necks.

While the green scarf may be the new symbol of the pro-abortion fight in the U.S, it's been around for at least a decade. In fact, it emerged in Argentina in the late 2010s, as the country’s activists fought to decriminalize abortion in a sweeping movement that earned them the title “Marea Verde” or “Green Wave.”

Continued: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2022/05/10978997/green-scarf-meaning-roe-v-wade-protests

Colombia legalized abortions for the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. A backlash ensued

May 10, 2022
JOHN OTIS

BOGOTA, Colombia — As some U.S. states place more restrictions on abortion and Americans brace for the possibility that the Supreme Court will soon overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing the procedure, several Latin American countries have moved in the opposite direction.

The latest nation to do so was Colombia. On Feb. 21, Colombia's Constitutional Court legalized abortion during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Continued: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2022/05/10/1097570784/colombia-legalized-abortions-for-the-first-24-weeks-of-pregnancy-a-backlash-ensu

Abortion rights activists in the US can learn from recent progress on abortion access in Latin America

Analysis by Stefano Pozzebon, CNN
Sat May 7, 2022

Bogota, Colombia (CNN)The prospect of the United States overturning decades of abortion rights, which materialized this week in a leaked draft opinion by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, triggered shock waves in many countries in Latin America, where many feminist organizations have often looked at the US as a model of greater reproductive rights and freedoms.

However, that model has flipped on its head in recent years. Just as several US states have put in place further barriers to abortion access through various restrictions, some countries in Latin America have moved in the other direction, with a growing number of countries liberalizing such laws.

Continued: https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/07/americas/abortion-analysis-latin-america-activists-intl-latam/index.html

As U.S. may restrict abortion, other nations are easing access

May 4, 2022
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BOGOTA, Colombia — As women in the United States find themselves on the verge of possibly losing the constitutional right to abortion, courts in many other parts of the world have been moving in the opposite direction.

That includes in a number of traditionally conservative societies — such as recently in Colombia, where the Constitutional Court in February legalized the procedure until the 24th week of pregnancy, part of a broader trend seen in parts of heavily Catholic Latin America.

Continued: https://www.npr.org/2022/05/04/1096533640/as-u-s-may-restrict-abortion-other-nations-are-easing-access

04.05.2022

Commentary

Featured

Agnes Callamard

Amnesty International

Catalina Martínez Coral

Center for Reproductive Rights

How Latin American women are winning the battle for abortion rights

Argentina, Colombia and Mexico have recently legalised or decriminalised abortion. Could Chile be next?

Diana Cariboni
29 April 2022

It was inconceivable, just five years ago, that ultra-conservative Colombia would decriminalise abortion, or that Catholic, neoliberal Chile would be gearing up to vote on a new constitution that enshrines sexual and reproductive rights, including on-request abortion.

Yet in February, Colombia’s constitutional court removed abortion (up to 24 weeks) from the criminal code in response to a court case brought by Causa Justa – the spearhead of a wide-ranging social and legal campaign of more than 120 groups and thousands of activists.

Continued: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/women-latin-america-winning-abortion-rights/

Colombia has approved more liberal abortion laws, sparking backlash

March 30, 2022
(4-minute podcast with transcript)
JOHN OTIS

Colombia approved some of the most liberal abortion laws in the Americas in February. The decision has provoked a backlash from anti-abortion groups.

AILSA CHANG, HOST:
As some states in the U.S. have restricted access to abortion, several Latin American countries have moved in the opposite direction. The latest was Colombia, where the Constitutional Court in February approved some of the most liberal abortion laws in the Americas. Reporter John Otis retraces the country's course on this issue. And just a note - this story begins with some disturbing imagery.

Continued: https://www.npr.org/2022/03/30/1089774564/colombia-has-approved-more-liberal-abortion-laws-sparking-backlash

The Key Argument on Abortion That Changed Everything in Colombia

March 14, 2022
Catalina Martínez Coral

BOGOTÁ, Colombia — For decades abortion rights activists in Latin America looked to our counterparts in the global north to learn the best litigation and advocacy tools. We considered the incremental gains made in the years leading up to Roe v. Wade in the United States a blueprint for victory in our fight.

But as a feminist green wave, referring to the green bandannas abortion rights supporters wear, sweeps across the region, this summer the United States Supreme Court could roll back abortion rights. Inspiration is now coming from the south rather than the north, thanks to the coordinated efforts of many Latin American activists.

Continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/14/opinion/latin-america-colombia-abortion.html