What countries in Latin America allow access to abortion?

In several Latin American countries the abortion It is a prohibited and penalized practice despite the claim of various civil society groups in the region that, although they have seen progress in recent years towards its legalization, confirm that the situation between nations is quite unequal.

The massive and simultaneous protests – on the international day “for a legal and safe abortion” – in different countries of the region show a disagreement with the laws that surround the total prohibition of abortion, but also with the restrictions and, above all, with the laws that sentence women to jail.

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This is how the unequal situation of the Latin American countries goes with respect to abortion:

The Savior

On The Savior, Article 133 of the Penal Code establishes a penalty of 2 to 8 years in prison for abortion. However, prosecutors and judges classify cases of abortion or even the loss of a baby as “aggravated homicide”, a crime punishable by 30 to 50 years in prison.

The situation seems that it will not improve, after the president of The Savior, Nayib Bukele, in mid-September withdrew from the constitutional reform proposal, drawn up by his government, the possibility of legalizing therapeutic abortion.

“I have decided, so that there is no doubt, not to propose any type of reform to any article that has to do with the right to life (from the moment of conception)”said the president and the protests have not stopped since then.

Other countries in the region where abortion is totally prohibited are Honduras, Nicaragua, Suriname, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Chile

Free abortion up to 14 weeks is advancing in the Congress of Chile. The bill to decriminalize abortion was voted in the Lower House with 75 votes in favor and 68 against and now the initiative must go through the approval of the Senate.

It seeks to modify the current abortion law, in force from 2017, which is only allowed in three causes: that there is a vital risk for the woman in pregnancy, that the fetus suffers a congenital or genetic disease of a lethal nature or that the pregnancy is the result of a violation.

If the cause of abortion is different from the three mentioned, the Chilean Penal Code defines prison sentences.

Peru

The “therapeutic abortion” is authorized in Peru when the pregnancy is less than 22 weeks, it was legalized in 1924, but it was only regulated in 2014, with strong restrictions and under the rejection of the Catholic and Evangelical Church.

Civil society groups have denounced that around 370,000 clandestine abortions are performed each year in the country.

Activists who support the decriminalization of abortion in Mexico march in Guadalajara, Mexico, on September 28, 2019, during activities within the framework of the International Safe Abortion Day. (Photo: Ulises Ruiz / AFP) (ULISES RUIZ /)

Argentina

The government of Argentina promulgated in January of this year the law of voluntary interruption of pregnancy until the 14th week of gestation, approved after a historic parliamentary debate on December 30, 2020.

Abortion in Argentina it was only allowed in the event of rape or danger to the woman’s life, according to the 1921 penal code. It is estimated that since 1983 more than 3,000 women have died in the between 370,000 and 520,000 clandestine abortions performed each year in a country with 44 million inhabitants.

In the region, in addition to Argentina, abortion is legal in Cuba, Uruguay and Guyana.

Ecuador

The Constitutional Court of Ecuador resolved to decriminalize abortion in all cases of rape by modifying the criminal law, which only authorized it if the assault was against a woman with a mental disability.

This, in practice, implies that if a pregnant woman miscarries as a result of rape, she will not be subjected to a criminal process and eventually imprisoned.

In Ecuador, six girls abort every day, according to data released by the Ombudsman’s Office. In addition, in children under 14 years of age, 80% of pregnancies are the result of sexual violence.

Mexico

On Mexico abortion before 12 weeks of pregnancy is legal, but a dozen Mexican states adopted legal provisions in 2007 to make it compulsory to “protect life from conception.”

However, on September 10, 2021, the Supreme Court of Mexico declared unconstitutional the law of the state of Coahuila that equates abortion with murder, which established a national jurisprudence on the matter.

Yes OK Mexico It is a federated country where the states dictate their laws, they lose validity if they contravene Court rulings that establish jurisprudence, as in the case of Coahuila, which must reform its penal code.

A statement from the court details that “it is unconstitutional to criminalize abortion in an absolute way”, that is to say that a period of certain weeks is not established, as expected, to interrupt the pregnancy.

A woman holds a sign that says “If men could have an abortion, there would be more abortion clinics than ATMs”, during a demonstration in front of the presidential house in favor of the legalization of abortion, in San José, Costa Rica, on September 28 2020. (Photo: Ezequiel BECERRA / AFP) (EZEQUIEL BECERRA /)

Venezuela

The Venezuelan Penal Code, of 1926 and last amended in 2005, sanctions “induced abortion” with sentences of up to six years. Penalties are reduced when abortion involves saving the “honor” of the woman or her family, and there will be no penalties if it is caused to “save the life of the woman in labor.”

But due to the economic crisis the country is experiencing, it is difficult to have an overview of how many clandestine abortions are performed in Venezuela and under what methods.

Brazil

On Brazil, abortion is only allowed in case of rape, risks to the mother or if the fetus developed anencephaly, a congenital malformation of the nervous system. In other circumstances, he is liable to three years in prison.

And there is, at the moment and under the mandate of Jair Bolsonaro, any sign that the situation will change, especially after his statements when he learned that abortion was legalized in Argentina.

“I deeply regret the lives of Argentine children, now exposed to being reaped in the womb of their mothers with the consent of the State.”, The ultra-rightist president wrote on his Twitter account.

With information from AFP

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