Attempt to introduce abortion-on-demand to Colombia fails
Colombia’s top Court has this week rejected a proposal to introduce abortion on demand to the country during the first 16 weeks of pregnancy.
Although Colombia’s criminal code prohibits abortion in all circumstances, the law is not enforced. Instead, the country follows a 2006 Constitutional Court ruling that allows abortion in cases of rape, disability, or any “health” risk to the mother.
Colombia’s Constitutional Court was responding to a legal challenge brought by a lawyer named Natalia Bernal according to a report by Al-Jazeera. Bernal sought a total ban on abortion. Bernal brought the challenge after a 22-year-old woman in Colombia aborted her baby at seven months, after undergoing a psychological assessment declaring that she was suffering from depression as a result of pregnancy.
However, the case created the opportunity for one judge to instead propose legalising abortion for any and every reason in the first four months of pregnancy.
Magistrates however rejected the proposal, finding no reason to introduce abortion on demand. The court ultimately voted 6 to 3 not to rule on the case, thus maintaining the current status quo.
“The plaintiff hasn’t submitted sufficient arguments to call into question a constitutional judgment,” they said in a statement read aloud in the court.
While the court debated the case, both pro-life and pro-abortion activists gathered in the streets. The pro-life group reportedly wore blue and chanted “Yes to life,” with abortion advocates wearing green and chanting “Yes to abortion.”
Roughly 90 percent of Colombia’s population identifies as Christian, with 70 to 80 percent of those people Catholic.
According to Al Jazeera, the Court’s decision was in line with public opinion in the country. A poll by Colombian magazine Semana, which took place in February, suggested that nearly 70 percent of the country was opposed to the legalization of abortion during the first four months of pregnancy.
Hundreds of pro-life campaigners gathered outside the court on Monday to celebrate following the ruling.
One woman, who aborted her baby when she was 19 and now volunteers with a pro-life group, told Crux: “Abortion is a tragic experience. And it’s something that we don’t want any woman to go through. What we need is support, to get education, to get jobs so that we can sustain our children.”
After the ruling, President Iván Duque praised magistrates for making “an important decision.”
“I’ve always said I’m pro-life,” he said. “I think that life starts at conception.”
Abortion activists had hoped the court would rule in their favour after Judge Alejandro Linares Cantillo took up their case. They are hopeful that a bill to legalise abortion in Argentina, announced this week, will pressure Colombia and other countries in Latin America to follow suit.
Unidos por la Vida (Together for Life), a Colombian pro-life organization, also welcomed the court’s vote. The decision “is a clear sign that the tide is changing in favour of the most innocent and helpless babies to be born and their mothers and fathers,” the group said in a statement.
“The decision issued today by the Constitutional Court in which it declares an inhibitory sentence against the lawsuit presented by Dr. Natalia Bernal, shows the power of the pro-civil society that managed to defeat the speech of Judge Linares who sought to violate the fundamental right to life when proposing indiscriminate abortion until 16 weeks,” the statement reads.
“However, we regret that the court has not ruled in substance and has set aside the sustained demand of Dr. Bernal,” the statement continues.
“Colombian society has awakened and will continue until the right to life is fully respected from the moment of conception until its natural death.”
Jesus Magaña, a Colombian pro-life leader, told LifeSiteNews that the pro-life movement in Colombia now needs to build on the success of the court's decision and work with politicians to ensure that all lives are protected from the moment of conception.
“We have had a bad situation in Colombia for the past 16 years,” Magana said, “but we believe this can be a moment that brings us together to defend the lives of all Colombians.”