In this September 28, 2020 file photo, women hold letters forming the phrase “Legal Abortion Now” during an abortion-rights protest in Quito, Ecuador. The South American country’s constitutional court ruled on Wednesday, April 28, 2021, in favor of decriminalizing abortion in the case of rape.(AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa, File)
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuador’s Constitutional Court ruled Wednesday in favor of decriminalizing abortion in cases of rape, a decision that paves the way for laws imposing prison sentences in such cases to be changed.
The court’s judges voted 7-2 in favor of declaring two articles of the country’s penal code unconstitutional. The decision came in response to a petition from seven women’s, feminist and human rights groups.
The court now can demand the National Assembly reform the two articles or issue an order with deadlines and guidelines for its application.
Despite an order not to hold public gatherings, anti- and pro-abortion groups held demonstrations outside the Constitutional Court.
In the hours before the ruling, María de Lourdes Alcívar, the wife of President-elect Guillermo Lasso, said on her Twitter account: “We pray to God that abortion is not approved in our country. It is murder.”
Oremos al DIOS para que no sea aprobado el aborto en nuestro país ????Es un asesinato. Que nos duela el ♥️sólo el decirlo.Todos tenemos derecho a la Vida. Madres,padres,eduquen en Valores a sus hijos desde pequeñitos, a sus hijas, desde que nacen para que sepan RESPETAR #LaVida.
— MaLourdes de Lasso (@MLAlcivar) April 27, 2021
Meanwhile, one of Ecuador’s best-known women’s rights activists, Lolo Miño, tweeted: “I am crying as I write this because I don’t believe it! Today, girls and women who are the victims of rape in Ecuador have a second chance.”
Lloro mientras escribo esto porque no lo creo!!
Hoy, las niñas y mujeres víctimas de violación en Ecuador, tienen una segunda oportunidad.
La @CorteConstEcu despenalizó hoy el aborto en casos de violación.#EsLey
???— Lolo Miño ??? (@LoloMino) April 28, 2021
