NAVIGATING ABORTION LAWS IN LATIN AMERICA: A BRIEF BUT COMPREHENSIVE OVERVIEW FROM A YOUTH PERSPECTIVE

Dana Repka

Youth for Activists: Global Meeting

December 2023

Mapping the Evolution: Abortion Regulatory Frameworks Worldwide and in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)

Source: Center for Reproductive Rights. The World’s Abortion Laws, 2023

A Decade of Change: Emergence of Laws, Regulations, and Rulings Liberalizing Abortion in LAC

Source: My own, 2023

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The reasons for the Green Wave in LAC

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Abortion on the

Public Agenda

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Abortion has become a steadfast issue in the public discourse of Latin America.

It has been vigorously defended in the public domain, stepping out from the shadows and gaining democratic legitimacy, despite facing inevitable backlash.

A New Paradigm on Abortion Regulation

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The first reason is a paradigm shift in the regulation of abortion, which was reflected in an evolution from primarily considering abortion as a crime, to recognizing it as a human right and an essential health service.

Source: Sonia Ariza Navarrete. Law 27.610: Comprehensive care for individuals with the right to voluntary and legal termination of pregnancy. Bariloche: National Directorate of Sexual and Reproductive Health of Argentina. September 2023.

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A New paradigm for abortion regulation in LAC

The Health Approach in Action:

Argentina's Abortion Law Impact

Source: Romero M, Ramón Michel A, Krause M, Keefe-Oates B, Ábalos E, Molina S, Ramos S. Annual Report 2022: The Paths of the Argentine Experience with Legal Abortion. Proyecto Mirar. Buenos Aires: CEDES, 2023.

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Conclusion:

Health-centered approach to abortion →

Reduces maternal mortality →

Saves lives.

The absolute number of maternal deaths from abortion halved in the second year after the decriminalization of abortion.

SYMBOLIC IMPACT OF ABORTION IN THE PUBLIC AGENDA: REGIONAL UNITY & NATIONAL DIVERSITY

• The green bandana as a regional symbol.
• Adapted to include national slogans.

COLOMBIA

El Salvador

Chile

AT THE BACK OF THE PACK

‘BEATRIZ V. EL SALVADOR’ CASE

FROM A YOUNG PERSPECTIVE

BEATRIZ VS. EL SALVADOR

Case facts:

• Beatriz was a young Salvadoran woman living in extreme poverty.
• In February 2013, she was diagnosed with a high-risk pregnancy and fetal anencephaly, which meant the fetus was not viable outside the uterus.
• The Medical Committee of the National Rosales Hospital recommended terminating her pregnancy to safeguard Beatriz's health and life.
• However, due to El Salvador's absolute prohibition of abortion, Beatriz was denied the termination of her pregnancy.
• After three months of struggling, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) ordered the country to take the necessary measures to protect Beatriz's life, health, and personal integrity, and a cesarean section was eventually performed six month after she asked for the termination on her pregnancy.
• As a result, Beatriz's physical and emotional health was severely compromised.

Beatriz’s case is emblematic because it exposed the severe consequences of penalizing the termination of pregnancy, a restriction that prevented Beatriz from timely accessing an abortion when her life and health were at risk.

YOUTH NETWORK AMICUS

• Context and Motivation:
• Beatriz’s case: A strategic point for intervention.
• Objective: Addressing rights violations at the intersection of youth and social vulnerability.
• Purpose of the Amicus Curiae
• To inform the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that the criminalization of abortion violates the right to equality due to its disproportionate impact on young people.
• Leadership and Draft of the Amicus
• A process led by young people: Written and reviewed by young members of the Network.
• An effort consistent with the ideals of youth empowerment.
• Structure of the Amicus
• First Part: Focus on normative standards.
• Second Part: Analysis of empirical studies on the profile of individuals criminalized for abortion offenses.

1. Normative standars

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Age is a characteristic that often intersects with discrimination on other grounds, adding to it and multiplying its effects. Coupled with the structural and institutional barriers that youth also face, these multiple forms of discrimination prevent many young people from enjoying equal opportunities and substantive equality

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United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Youth and Human Rights Report, 2018, para. 32.

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World Health Organization, Guidelines on Abortion Care, 2022, p. 25.

1. Normative standars

When criminal prosecutions [for abortion] are carried out, they may be disproportionately imposed on young women, single women, and those facing financial difficulties and lower access to education.

01.

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‘Manuela v. El Salvador’ case - Inter-American Court of Human Rights

• Case of criminalization of an obstetric event, which ended with a conviction for aggravated homicide due to kinship.

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• Description of Manuela: "young woman living in poverty".

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• It was recognized that the convergence "of Manuela's state of poverty and her reproductive age" resulted in practice "in a situation of increased vulnerability to being a victim of particular discrimination", for which the State of El Salvador was responsible (para. 114).

1. Normative standards

01.

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2) Empirical Studies

01.

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Out of 181 women imprisoned for crimes related to abortion in El Salvador from 1998 to 2019, 82.3% (149) of those affected were young women under the age of 30.

EL SALVADOR

Citizens' Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion, From the Hospital to the Jail, 2022.

01.

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García, Erika, Grecia Lozano, & Marcela Arias, The Criminalization of Women for the Crime of Abortion in Honduras, 2020.

From the study of women being convicted for the crime of abortion, 81% of the criminalization cases occurred in young women between 18 and 29 years of age, while only 2% of the cases involved women over 40 years old.

HONDURAS

2) Empirical Studies

Of 1,532 cases for abortion and 37 for obstetric events that were initiated between 2012 and 2020, the vast majority were cases of women under 30 years old, with the highest criminalization being in the age group of 20 to 24 years.

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ARGENTINA

COLOMBIA

CELS, National Campaign for the Right to Legal, Safe, and Free Abortion, CELS, María Lina Carrera, Natalia Saralegui Ferrante, and Gloria Orrego-Hoyos. Report: The Criminalization of Abortion and Other Obstetric Events in Argentina. 2020.

According to a 2019 report by La Mesa por la Vida y la Salud de las Mujeres, the largest group of women judicialized for abortion were young students living in rural areas.

La Mesa por la Vida y la Salud de las Mujeres, Causa Justa: Arguments for the Debate on the Total Decriminalization of Abortion in Colombia, 2019.

2) Empirical Studies

Final thoughts:

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Two personal wishes:

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1. Apply the 'Manuela' doctrine to the Beatriz case → Recognizing 'age' as a factor of discrimination.

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1. It is essential to conduct further quantitative research that identify the profile of those criminally prosecuted in terms of age and, above all, systematize the specific reasons why young women are the most criminally prosecuted individuals.

THANK YOU!

Dana Repka

danarepkahruska@gmail.com