The Ecuadorian Congress on Thursday regulated voluntary abortion for women in cases of rape and established that minors can interrupt their pregnancy up to 18 weeks, after the decriminalization of this practice last year.
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With an absolute majority of 75 votes in favor, the National Assembly (with 137 seats) gave the green light to the bill that regulates abortion by order of the Constitutional Court.
Under the new rules, rape victims under the age of 18 will be able to abort up to 18 weeks of pregnancy.
(Read here: New confrontations are reported in an Ecuadorian prison hit by massacres)
Those of legal age (from 18 years old) will be able to do it up to twelve weeks, while those who live in rural areas or in remote indigenous communities will have the option of undergoing this procedure up to 18 weeks of gestation, so that have more time to find medical assistance.
The vote was held amid protests by some pro-abortion activists.who met outside the legislative headquarters to demand that there be no deadlines.
“We are here representing all rape survivors who will be forced into hiding and maternity, in case of rape, because the deadlines that the Assembly imposes are restrictive,” Verónica Vera, 31, told AFP along with Several young women stripped naked at the demonstration.
A group of anti-abortion people also protested outside Congress, although no incidents were reported. The text will now go to the consideration of the Ecuadorian president, the conservative Guillermo Lasso, who opposes abortion and anticipated that he will veto it.
“I don’t believe in abortion any more than I believe in the death penalty,” Lasso told reporters earlier this year. He added that “I am determined to veto it, I cannot tell you if it will be a total or partial veto, it depends on what the final text of the Assembly is.”
(In other news: The debate on abortion in the Constitutional Court is stirred again)
Seven girls give birth per day
Lasso, who assumed power nine months ago, said that although he “definitely” does not share the Constitutional Court’s resolution, his “republican attitude” “forces” him to respect the decision of the magistrates.
If it finally vetoes the entire law, Congress will be able to revisit the issue after a year and approve it with a two-thirds vote (91 of 137).
But if he objects to only part of the text, Lasso will have to present an alternative framework for consideration in Congress, where he does not have a majority.
Last April, the Constitutional Court expanded access to abortion in cases of rape. Before, only women with disabilities or in danger of death could voluntarily terminate pregnancy.
Seven children under the age of 14 give birth every day in Ecuador, the third Latin American country with the highest rate of pregnancy in girls and adolescents, according to official data.
The feminist organization Surkuna maintains that, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, between August 2014 and November 2021 there were around 42,000 complaints of rape.
The NGO Human Rights Watch (HWR) pointed out that Ecuador allocates about five million dollars a year to care for complications related to unsafe abortions. Ecuadorian law provides that a woman who interrupts her pregnancy for reasons other than those permitted will be punished with up to two years in prison.
AFP
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