Abortion giant Planned Parenthood has called for celebration after Colombia’s high court legalized abortion on Monday, the latest Latin American country to decriminalize infanticide.
On its Facebook page, Profamilia Colombia — the name of Planned Parenthood in the country — urged its followers to celebrate the “historic” step in guaranteeing sexual and reproductive rights of “women and gestating persons.”
After 24 weeks, the Colombian high court declared, women may continue to abort their children only in cases of rape or incest, life-threatening fetal deformities, or a danger to the mother’s health. This decision follows a lawsuit brought by abortion rights groups, known collectively as the Green Wave, to have abortion removed from the penal code.
Planned Parenthood, which boasts 46 clinics in 36 Colombian cities, had been vigorously campaigning for the legalization of abortion under the slogan “Aborto sí!” calling the measure a sign of progress.
“While today we are celebrating this historic decision, the Green Wave is strong and growing, and the fight for reproductive rights and justice will not end until every person can access high-quality sexual and reproductive healthcare when and where they need it,” Eugenia Lopez Uribe, the International Planned Parenthood Foundation’s regional director for the Americas and the Caribbean region, wrote in a statement.
The Catholic Episcopal Conference of Colombia issued a statement Tuesday, expressing its “profound sorrow” over the decision. “Direct abortion is an immoral act and a violent practice contrary to life,” they noted.