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Colombia decriminalizes abortion up to 24 weeks
The voting was closed with votes 5 in favor and 4 against
The Constitutional Court of Colombia, approved this Monday the decriminalization of abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, thus becoming the Latin American country that approves the interruption of the same with more gestation time.
Previously, the penal code of the coffee-producing country contemplated 16 to 54 months in prison for women who decided to interrupt their pregnancy. According to the statistics managed by the Just Cause feminist front, some 400 were convicted annually.
Although abortion was seen as a crime, since 2006 it was agreed that those pregnancies resulting from rape, with malformations or where the mother's life was at risk could interrupt the pregnancy without the risk of being imprisoned.
It should be noted that the Constitutional Court, through a statement, asked Congress and the National Government to legislate effectively, so that it is fulfilled as soon as possible, since this proposal has taken almost two years to be approved.
Other Latin American countries
In recent years, the feminist movements of the world have grown and one of the petitions that they have made with more force has been that of a free reproductive choice and thus the decriminalization of abortion, since according to their allegations the figures of women who lose their life by terminating pregnancy is high.
For this reason, in 2020 Argentina became one of the pioneering countries accepting the interruption of pregnancy within the first weeks of gestation.
For its part, the Supreme Court of Justice of Mexico in 2021 indicated that it was illegal to criminalize abortion, without failing to protect the right to life from gestation.
Other countries such as Chile have discussed this without success, however, pro-abortion movements continue to demand that it be decriminalized.
