Quito, Ecuador, Apr 29, 2021 / 10:35 am America/Denver (CNA).
The Constitutional Court of Ecuador ruled Wednesday to approve the decriminalization of abortion in cases of rape.
The 7-2 decision was made April 28. It regarded a suit brought in 2019 by several pro-abortion rights groups.
Existing law allowed legal abortion in Ecuador only in cases of the rape of a woman with mental disabilities, or when the mother’s life is determined to be at risk.
The Ecuadorian constitution states that “girls, boys and adolescents shall enjoy the rights common to human beings, in addition to those specific to their age. The state shall recognize and guarantee life including its care and protection from conception.”
Ecuador’s bishops had on April 27 written to the Constitutional Court arguing that the “crime of rape” is not solved “with another crime: abortion”.