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The conservative Caribbean country currently operates on a penal
code dating from 1884, and efforts to reform it in the past 23
years have failed.
“It’s a code that has many setbacks in terms of rights,” said
Sergia Galván Ortega, with the Coalition for Women’s Lives and
Rights.
She joined the demonstrators on Thursday who demanded that
abortion be allowed in cases of rape, incest or fatal fetal
abnormalities.
The Dominican Republic is currently one of only a handful of
countries with an absolute abortion ban. Others include
Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador.
Thursday’s protest was especially important to some Dominicans
given that the government cannot be held criminally responsible
for the recent collapse of a nightclub’s roof that killed more
than 230 people.
While the nightclub’s owner and his sister were detained, many
were outraged that the government cannot be held liable — not
under the current or the proposed new penal code.
Protesters also noted that the proposed penal code does not
recognize marital rape and would allow physical violence against
children if the adult does not demonstrate a pattern of
aggression. It also calls for lesser prison time for child sex
abuse cases with no penetration.
“That’s terrible,” said Natalia Mármol, an activist and member
of the women's coalition.
The proposed code was fast-tracked in commission and is expected
to be approved by the Dominican Senate and Chamber of Deputies.
It would then go to President Luis Abinader, who several years
ago said he supports allowing abortion under certain
circumstances.
A decade ago, former President Danilo Medina vetoed a different
proposed penal code, demanding that abortion be allowed under
certain circumstances. Lawmakers amended the code, but a court
eventually struck it down amid opposition from religious
officials.
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