Bukele will not change abortion laws 3:38
(CNN Spanish) --
In a historic decision, the Colombian Constitutional Court decriminalized abortion up to 24 weeks of gestation.
Until now, the Colombian Penal Code considered abortion legal in three specific cases: rape or incest, fetal malformation that makes her life unviable, or when the continuation of the pregnancy constitutes a danger to the life or health of the woman, certified by a doctor.
But whoever had an abortion —or whoever performed it— outside of these three scenarios was committing a crime.
That changed: now you can abort up to 6 months of pregnancy.
In September 2021, the Mexican Supreme Court of Justice ruled that it is unconstitutional to criminalize abortion.
The decision comes days after a law came into force on the other side of the border, in Texas, which prohibits abortion after 6 weeks of gestation, putting the issue back in the center of the scene.
The United States is one of nearly 60 countries that provide legal access to safe abortions.
Although it has been legal since 1973, access to treatment depends on the laws determined by each state, and most states have established gestational limits that vary from 20 to 24 weeks.
abortion laws around the world
Abortion laws vary drastically around the world: in some countries it is a personal decision, in others it is completely illegal, and in many countries abortions are only accepted in certain situations, such as fetal malformations or in cases of rape.
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The Center for Reproductive Rights, a non-profit organization in the United States, counts those countries in which abortion is legal, in which it is allowed only in certain circumstances and in which it is totally illegal.
One of the last updates prior to that of Colombia and Mexico was that of Argentina, which in December 2020 approved the law that allows the voluntary interruption of pregnancy;
Ireland, which in May 2020 held a referendum in which to legalize abortion won a majority;
and Chile, which in 2019 allowed abortion in certain circumstances.
The situation in Latin America
Colombia thus joined Argentina, Uruguay and Cuba as the only countries in Latin America that enable legal abortion at the request of any pregnant woman.
The Uruguayan law establishes the 12th week of gestation as the limit, as does the Cuban law.
Argentina's, meanwhile, sets the limit at 14 weeks.
In addition to the United States, on the mainland Canada, Guiana and French Guiana also have laws that allow free legal abortion.
Then other countries have a policy where they allow abortion in specific cases and conditions:
Bolivia: rape, incest, mental health;
Ecuador: rape;
Peru: rape, life risk for women.
In Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, Dominica, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay and Venezuela, abortion is prohibited, but it is allowed to save the woman's life in case of risk.
Mexico is among those countries, but some states have added other causes to allow termination of pregnancy.
For example, in Mexico City it is enabled until 12 weeks of gestation.
And to these provisions is added the decision of the Justice of 2021.
Suriname, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Honduras are the only countries in the Americas where abortion is completely prohibited.
Editor's note:
This article was originally published in August 2018 and was updated in February 2022.
Abortion Cause of abortion Decriminalization of abortion
