Nica bans abortion
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6161396.stm
Nicaragua brings in abortion ban
Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos has signed into law a ban on all
abortions, even in cases when a woman’s life is judged to be at risk.
Previous legislation from a century ago allowed an abortion if three
doctors certified that the woman was in danger.
Abortion was a central issue for November’s presidential election in
mainly Roman Catholic Nicaragua.
President-elect Daniel Ortega once favoured abortion rights but
changed stance after re-embracing Catholicism.
Mr Bolanos signed the law in the presence of Roman Catholic bishops
and Protestant evangelist leaders.
Maternal deaths
The new legislation would help protect the right to life enshrined in
the Nicaraguan constitution, a statement on the presidency’s website
said.
Some women’s groups strongly opposed the change in the law
The law abolished abortion rights “which allowed the daily execution
of innocent children in their mother’s womb, in open violation of the
Constitution which protected the unborn child”, the statement said.
Nicaragua already had strong anti-abortion laws, with women and
doctors who take part in abortions facing prison sentences of up to
six years.
But in October the national assembly unanimously approved the new ban.
The timing of the vote was opposed by Nicaragua’s medical association
and representatives from the United Nations and European Union, who
warned that the debate had become politicised ahead of the election.
Doctors and women’s rights campaigners also argued that the change in
the law would increase maternal deaths and infant mortality.
Public opinion
The former Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega was a defender of
Nicaragua’s limited abortion rights and a critic of the Catholic
church when he led a left-wing Nicaraguan government in the 1980s.
He has since been reconciled with the church and has become a
strident opponent of abortion.
Public opinion in Nicaragua, which is estimated to be 85% Roman
Catholic, appeared to be behind the bill.
Similarly strict laws are in place in Chile and El Salvador.
In many other Latin American countries, abortion is permitted if the
woman’s life is in danger.
In May, abortion restrictions were partially eased in Colombia to
permit terminations in cases of rape, incest or if the life of the
mother or foetus is in danger.