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 The decision adds Colombia to a list of Latin American countries
which have recently liberalized abortion access, including Mexico
and Ecuador.
Abortion was partially legalized in Colombia under a 2006 court
decision which allowed it only in cases of rape, fatal fetal
deformity and health of the woman, without any time limits.
Under Monday's ruling, backed by five of nine judges, women will not
be prosecuted for seeking abortions up to 24 weeks of gestation,
after which the procedure will only be allowed under the original
three conditions.
"The practice of abortion will only be punishable when it is
conducted after the twenty-fourth week of gestation and, in all
cases, this time limit will not apply to the three conditions laid
out in Ruling C-355 of 2006," the court said in a statement.
Congress and the national government must urgently implement
policies to protect the rights of pregnant women, the court's
statement added, including family planning services, eliminating
obstacles to abortion care and help with adoptions.
The Causa Justa coalition, which sued for decriminalization in
September 2020, estimates around 90% of abortions in the country
take place clandestinely, putting women's lives at risk as they seek
dangerous alternatives to seeing a doctor. "We did it!" the
coalition, which is made up of more than 90 feminist organizations,
said on its Twitter account.
Its supporters, many sporting green to represent the abortion rights
movement and some crying, celebrated outside the court.
CHANGE ACROSS THE REGION
Mexico's Supreme Court decriminalized abortion last year, while
Ecuador's National Assembly last week approved regulations to allow
access to abortion in cases of rape.
Incoming Chilean President Gabriel Boric has vowed to make the
procedure freely available, as it is in Argentina and Uruguay under
certain time limits.
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 Abortion rights advocates said the decision was
not the end of their fight for full
legalization. "We hope that the
next step for Colombia will be the total decriminalization of
abortion, in order to protect women's reproductive autonomy at all
times," Nancy Northup, president of the New York City-based Center
for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement.
The coalition argued in its suit that prosecutions of women and
girls who sought or obtained abortions have worsened stigma and
scared doctors and patients, even in cases when one of the three
legal conditions has applied. Some 350 women were
convicted or sanctioned for abortions between the original 2006
ruling and mid-2019, including at least 80 girls under the age of
18, according to Causa Justa.
Decriminalization will reduce deaths from clandestine procedures,
save the under-funded health system money, end expensive
prosecutions and guarantee women's bodily autonomy, the group said.
A ruling had originally been expected late last year, but the
decision has been repeatedly delayed amid a recusal request from a
judge and other procedural debates.
Dozens of protesters opposed to abortion were also outside the court
on Monday.
"We don't want either legal or clandestine abortion," said Daniela
Clavijo, who was protesting before the ruling. "We are asking the
court to totally penalize abortion, so there's never any condition
for abortion."
(Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb and Luisa Gonzalez; Editing by
Aurora Ellis)
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