In Colombia, the pro-life caucus (which includes about 60 congressmen from different political parties) continues its effort to reverse decisions that have expanded access to abortion in the South American nation. As reported by the newspaper El País, the group of legislators has presented several proposals in response to the partial decriminalization of abortion approved two years ago.
In 2022, Colombia's Constitutional Court decriminalized abortion up to 24 weeks of gestation, a ruling that generated great polarization in society. Now, with the growing support of conservative sectors, the pro-life bench seeks to stop what they consider a threat to family values.
In September, the pro-life bench presented the “Listen to her Heartbeat” bill with the purpose of allowing women who wish to have an abortion to listen to the baby's heartbeat via ultrasound.
However, the proposal has been met with criticism from feminist groups and human rights advocates, who argue that this type of legislation violates the rights of women to decide about their own bodies. “The state cannot impose a single morality on women's private decisions,” said an activist from the feminist organization Mesa por la Vida.
In the explanatory memorandum of their bill, the pro-life congressmen explain that they seek to “raise awareness about the value of the life of human beings regardless of the stage of biological development in which they find themselves.”
Representatives have presented other bills, such as the one that seeks to ensure conscientious objection for health personnel, presented this week, and the one on adoption from the womb, introduced in 2021 but subsequently shelved. In addition, members of the pro-life caucus have promoted two bills for the Constitution to recognize life “from the moment of conception”, which would imply the prohibition of abortion. Although these initiatives were previously rejected, they reintroduced them in August.
“It is usual that in Congress there are debates around sexual and reproductive rights because they are issues that usually have electoral benefits,” Laura Castro, coordinator of the Mesa por la Vida y la Salud de las Mujeres, a feminist collective and abortion advocate, told El País.
As Diario Cristiano reported, in mid-August last year the Colombian Superintendence of Health issued a resolution regulating access “without obstacles” and giving instructions for access to the “Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy for women (girls, adolescents and adults)”. Thus, the Constitutional Court would implement a new regulation that would make abortion legal up to 24 weeks.
Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy is the euphemism used by governments and progressive organizations to refer to abortion.
At that time, conservative congressman Luis Miguel López assured that in Colombia there is no law that guarantees abortion: “At the point of sentences and overreach of functions, the role that belongs to the Congress of the Republic cannot be usurped.”
The Evangelical Confederation of Colombia (CEDECOL) published an “Open Letter in defense of life and Christian values”, in which it expresses its support for the efforts by the pro-life bench of the Congress.
For her part, the feminist Castro affirms that “it has been a constant that the anti-rights movements use alliances they have with congressmen to move their political agendas.”
Despite the divisions, the pro-life caucus has the support of Christian leaders, who see this crusade as an effort to protect values and principles in Colombian society. The debate continues to be one of the most heated on the legislative agenda.
First published by Diario Cristiano, Christian Daily International's Spanish edition.
