Abortion in Nicaragua
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Abortion in Nicaragua is completely illegal. Prior to a change in the law, which took effect on 18 November 2006, the law allowed pregnancies to be terminated for "therapeutic" reasons, but this clause is no longer in effect.[1]
Abortion law in Nicaragua
The law before November 2006 permitted therapeutic abortion in Nicaragua so long as the woman and three doctors consented to it. The definition of "therapeutic" was not specific but was commonly understood to apply to cases in which the pregnant woman's life is endangered.[2]
The law prior to November 2006 held that anyone who performed an abortion upon a woman without her permission would be subject to a prison term of three to six years. If the woman consented, both she and the person who performed the abortion faced a sentence of one to four years, and if she attempted a self-induced abortion, the term of imprisonment was four to eight years. A person who performed, or attempted to perform, an abortion, and, as a result, caused injury to the pregnant woman would be jailed for four to 10 years, or six to 10 years if it caused her death.[2]
In October 2006, right before the
"Rosa"
One case of a termination which was permitted under the former exception to Nicaragua's ban upon abortion was that of a nine-year-old girl, known to the media only as "Rosa", who was impregnated as the result of child sexual abuse in 2003.
The child's family, who were living in
Rosa's case drew international attention and prompted intense
Public opinion
An August–September 2006 Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research poll on abortion to save the life of the mother found that 20% of Nicaraguans felt strongly that it should be "legal", 49% felt somewhat that it should be "legal", 18% felt strongly that it should be "illegal", and 10% felt somewhat that it should be "illegal".[8]
Results of the ban
A report on the effects was filed by the
An
Nicaragua's Health Ministry officials told Human Rights Watch that they did not have any official documentation of the effects of the blanket ban and no plans for gathering such documentation. Consequently, statements that the ban has not caused women's deaths can not be substantiated. By contrast, the report cites several case histories. News reports put the number of deaths at 82 after the law has been in effect less than a year.[9]
The point of view of Human Rights Watch is that the law intentionally denies women access to health services essential to saving their lives, and is thus inconsistent with Nicaragua's obligations under international human rights law to ensure women's right to life. Their report is called, "Over Their Dead Bodies".[10]
See also
- Abortion in Chile was also illegal without exception until 2017
- Abortion in El Salvador is also illegal without exception.
- Abortion law
- Reproductive rights in Latin America
References
- ^ "Nicaraguan leader signs abortion law ." (20 November 2006). The Guardian. Retrieved 13 March 2008.
- ^ a b United Nations Population Division. (2002). Abortion Policies: A Global Review. Retrieved 14 July 2006.
- ^ "Nicaragua votes to ban abortions." (26 October 2006). BBC News. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
- ^ "Ban on abortion OKd as expected." (October 27, 2006). Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 October 2006.
- ^ "Nicaragua set to ban all abortions." (October 27, 2006). CBC News. Retrieved 29 October 2006.
- ^ Miles, Nick. "Abortion ruling splits Nicaragua." (4 March 2003). BBC News. Retrieved 29 October 2006.
- ^ "Nicaragua Shaken By Child's Abortion." (23 March 2003). CBS News. Retrieved 29 October 2006.
- ^ "Nicaraguans Favour Abortion in Some Cases Archived January 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine." (December 4, 2006). Angus Reid Global Monitor. Retrieved January 10, 2006.
- ^ Khaleeli, Homa. "Killer Law." (8 October 2007). The Guardian Retrieved 11 February 2008.
- ^ "Møllmann, Marianne". "Over Their Dead Bodies: Denial of Access to Emergency Obstetric Care and Therapeutic Abortion in Nicaragua (PDF). (2 October 2007). "Human Rights Watch, Volume 19, No. 2(B)." Retrieved 11 February 2008.