Colombia decriminalizes abortion for up to 24 weeks


Colombia's Constitutional Court on Monday decriminalized abortion for up to 24 weeks, making Colombia the latest in a string of Latin American countries to increase access to abortion. Argentina's Congress legalized all abortions up to 14 weeks in late 2020 and Mexico's Supreme Court decriminalized the procedure last September. In Colombia, abortions were only legal in cases of rape, if the mother's life or health was in danger, or if the fetus was malformed.
The court's 5-4 ruling, following one justice recusing himself and a court-appointed tiebreaker being added to the case, also urged Colombia's Congress to come up with rules to implement the ruling.
The proponents of greater abortion rights argued that Colombia's 2006 rules were discriminatory against poorer and more rural women, telling the court that nearly all of the nearly 3,000 people prosecuted for abortions between 2006 and 2020 were in rural areas, with some girls as young as 11. At least 346 people were convicted in those cases, and the punishment is up to three years in prison, The New York Times notes. About 70 people die from illegal abortions each year in Colombia, according to the health ministry.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"As Latin American countries move to expand abortion rights, lawmakers in the United States are racing to restrict them," The Washington Post reports, and the U.S. Supreme Court is weighing "whether to weaken or overturn the 1973 landmark decision that established the right to an abortion."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Morales seeks re-election defying constitution and criminal charges
Under the Radar Supporters of former president Evo Morales clash with authorities as political and economic turmoil deepens
-
June 22 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include a SpaceX flight, Bibi pulling Donald Trump toward war, and an ICE agent looking like a bank robber
-
5 bunker-busting cartoons about the Israel-Iran war
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on Iran waiting for Pete Hegseth to leak war plans and Donald Trump's wish for a Nobel prize
-
Israel strikes Iran, killing military and nuclear chiefs
Speed Read Israeli officials said the attack was a 'preemptive' strike on Iran's nuclear program
-
Israel deports Thunberg after seizing Gaza aid boat
speed read The Swedish activist was delivering food and medical aid to Palestine, highlighting the growing humanitarian crisis there
-
Colombian senator shot on streets of Bogotá
speed read Miguel Uribe Turbay, who has announced his candidacy for next year's presidential election, was shot at a rally
-
Trump says Putin vowed retaliation for Kyiv strike
speed read The Russian president intends to respond to Ukraine's weekend drone strikes on Moscow's warplanes
-
Dutch government falls over immigration policy
speed read The government collapsed after anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders quit the right-wing coalition
-
South Korea elects liberal Lee as president
speed read Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, was elected president following months of political instability in the wake of Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment
-
Nationalist wins tight Polish presidential election
speed read Karol Nawrocki beat Rafal Trzaskowski in Poland's presidential runoff election
-
Ukraine hits Russia's bomber fleet in stealth drone attack
speed read The operation, which destroyed dozens of warplanes, is the 'biggest blow of the war against Moscow's long-range bomber fleet'