April 17, 2022
THIS WEEK IN HUMAN RIGHTS NEWS
Image courtesy of Rebecca Robbins’ photo essay ‘The Right to Decide’
Latin America’s ‘green tide’ of abortion rights increases human rights in the continent
Sources: Amnesty International, CNN, Bustle, The Guardian, BBC, IWMF
In February 2022, Colombia’s Constitutional Court ruled in favour of decriminalising abortion within 24 weeks of pregnancy.
The historic ruling follows suit of similar decisions in Argentina and Mexico in 2020 and 2021 respectively. In 2020, Argentina legalised abortion within the first 14 weeks and in 2021, Mexico decriminalised abortion by preventing women from being persecuted for receiving one.
Prior to the rulings in Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia, only 3 of the 33 countries in Latin America, Cuba, Guyana, and Uruguay, had access to legalised abortion.
The rulings are indicative of the massive efforts made by the “green tide” in Latin America. Green has become a symbolic colour worn by human rights defenders in their efforts to secure reproductive rights. The recent rulings would not have been possible without the efforts of numerous human rights and reproductive rights organisations leading the movement to secure lasting change.
“Following the legalisation of abortion in Argentina last year and the recent decriminalization in Mexico, this ruling is yet another example of the unstoppable momentum of the green tide in Latin America,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director for Amnesty International, “We will not stop fighting until the sexual and reproductive rights of all women, girls and people able to bear children are recognized in the entire continent, without exception.”