NY Times Editorial: Abortion Ruling in Colombia

The New York Times
May 24, 2006
Editorial
Abortion Ruling in Colombia

Colombia, which until May 10 had completely banned abortion, has now legalized it under some circumstances. The country's Constitutional Court permitted the procedure in cases when the pregnancy endangers the life or health of the mother, or results from rape or incest, or if the fetus is unlikely to survive.

Along with El Salvador and Chile, Colombia had been one of three countries in Latin America where abortion was completely prohibited. The decision is very important for Colombian women, who will no longer have to contend with a legal system that privileges a fetus's life over that of the mother. It also adds to a string of legal rulings relaxing abortion rules in Latin America, and will encourage abortion-rights advocates elsewhere.

Almost as important as the ruling itself, however, are the reasons behind it. In the United States, the right to abortion rests on a woman's right to privacy. The Colombian court, in contrast, based its ruling on a woman's right to health, life and equality.

This reasoning reflects the fact that illegal abortion in Colombia, as in most of Latin America, is a huge public health problem. It is shockingly common, ending one in four pregnancies in Colombia. Women there average more than one abortion over their fertile years. By the government's rough estimate, unsafe abortion is the third leading cause of maternal mortality. The health dangers are not shared equally, as wealthier women can pay competent doctors, while poor ones must resort to unsafe clinics or, worse, do it themselves.

Catholic Church leaders have threatened to excommunicate the judges, along with women who undergo abortions and doctors who perform them. But most of Colombia's politicians who have spoken out, including the conservative president, Álvaro Uribe, say they respect the court ruling. Colombia must now overcome local pressure from the church and ensure that abortion is truly available to poor women in public hospitals. It should also address the lack of sex education and high rates of rape that have made abortion so tragically common.