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 The decision dashed the hopes of those who had looked to see
abortion legalized in Colombia. The Andean country is part of a
region that has some of the world’s strictest reproductive rights
laws.
The court rejected a case that looked to return the country to a ban
on the practice in all circumstances, but also said it would not
make abortion legal during the first four months of pregnancy.
As before, abortion will only be allowed if a mother’s life is at
risk, if a fetus is malformed or if the pregnancy is a result of
rape.
The decision was met with outcry by human rights organizations and
women's advocacy groups.
“Today’s decision by the Constitutional Court was a missed
opportunity to stand on the right side of history to provide
Colombian women and girls safe access to abortion,” Paula Avila-Guillen,
director of Latin America Initiatives at the Women’s Equality
Center, said in a statement.
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Amnesty International accused the court of turning its back on women.
"We regret that the court has decided to continue restricting women's sexual and
reproductive rights instead of setting a positive example for the region, ”said
Amnesty International Americas Director Erika Guevara Rosas.
Anti-abortion campaigners 40 Days for Life were not immediately available to
comment.
Most countries in Latin America and the Caribbean apply similar restrictions to
abortion as Colombia, while six countries in the region ban the procedure in all
circumstances.
On Sunday, Argentine President Alberto Fernandez said he would send a bill to
Congress within the next 10 days to legalize abortion in his country.
(Reporting by Oliver Griffin and Luis Jaime Acosta; Additional reporting by
Anastasia Moloney; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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