Abortion in Bolivia is illegal, except in the cases of rape, incest, or to protect the woman's health.[1] This policy forms part of the Penal Code laid down in 1973, and has been in force since then. Due to the difficulty of receiving abortions—even if the abortion does fall under one of the exceptions to the law, judicial permission needs to be secured, which can take a very long time—many pregnant women end up having unsafe, clandestine abortions instead. According to the Bolivian Ministry of Health, almost all of the 67,000 abortions performed in Bolivia in 2011 were clandestine, with approximately half of the women who received them needing hospital care afterwards.[2] This practice has been linked to the high maternal mortality rates in the country.[3]
Efforts were made to change the law in 2005, when legislators from the Movement for Socialism introduced a bill to legalise abortion, but it was quickly rejected.[3] In 2013, four years after the introduction of Bolivia's new constitution, Patricia Mancilla began a legal challenge calling for the Plurinational Constitutional Court to declare many provisions of the Penal Code, including the anti-abortion legislation, unconstitutional.[2]
On 6 December 2017, Bolivia's National Assembly voted to decriminalize abortion before eight weeks of pregnancy for "students, adolescents, or girls". Although the legislation does not specify an age limit, it is considered to apply to girls of age 17 or lower. Health Minister Ariana Campero supported this legislation as a measure to reduce the maternal mortality rate, and President Evo Morales signed the reform into law on 15 December 2017.[4] However, the reform law was repealed in its entirety on 27 January 2018 in response to protests about its provisions criminalizing medical malpractice.[5]
^"IPAS Bolivia". Ipas (organization). Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
^ abKane, Gillian (24 June 2013). "After Jailing Women, Bolivia Weighs Legalizing Abortion". The Atlantic. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
^ abCastellanos, Angela. "Legal Abortion Care in Bolivia Often Denied". RH Reality Check. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
^"Bolivia lawmakers vote to ease right abortion restrictions". ABC News. 6 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
^Ortiz, Pablo (January 27, 2018). "Evo entierra el nuevo Código Penal y ahora la protesta se centra en el respeto al voto". El Deber. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
and 28 Related for: Abortion in Bolivia information
AbortioninBolivia is illegal, except in the cases of rape, incest, or to protect the woman's health. This policy forms part of the Penal Code laid down...
Abortion is a divisive issue in the United States. The issue of abortion is prevalent in American politics and culture wars, though a majority of Americans...
Abortion laws vary widely among countries and territories, and have changed over time. Such laws range from abortion being freely available on request...
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage...
Abortionin Canada is legal throughout pregnancy and is publicly funded as a medical procedure under the combined effects of the federal Canada Health...
medical abortion, also known as medication abortion or non-surgical abortion, occurs when drugs (medication) are used to bring about an abortion. Medical...
Abortionin the United Kingdom is de facto available under the terms of the Abortion Act 1967 in Great Britain and the Abortion (Northern Ireland) (No...
Abortionin Germany is decriminalized on demand during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy upon condition of mandatory counseling. The same goes later in...
Abortionin New Zealand is available within the framework of the Abortion Legislation Act 2020, which entirely eliminated the criminal status of abortion...
Abortionin Japan is allowed under a term limit of 22 weeks for endangerment to the health of the pregnant woman, economic hardship, or rape. Chapter...
not account for medical abortions outside a clinic. Some analysts have estimated that the cumulative amount of abortionsin the United States may have...
Abortionin Europe varies considerably between countries and territories due to differing national laws and policies on its legality, availability of...
abortion—the deliberate termination of a pregnancy—has been known since ancient times. Various methods have been used to perform or attempt abortion,...
Abortionin Russia is legal as an elective procedure up to the 12th week of pregnancy, and in special circumstances at later stages. Following the takeover...
Numerous religious traditions have taken a stance on abortion but few are absolute. These stances span a broad spectrum, based on numerous teachings, deities...
Abortionin Brazil is a crime, with penalties of 1 to 3 years of imprisonment for the pregnant woman, and 1 to 4 years of imprisonment for the doctor...
Since 2021, abortion has no longer been a federal crime in Mexico. However, the criminal law in Mexico varies by state. On 7 September 2021, the Mexican...
Abortionin Australia is legal. There are no federal abortion laws, and full decriminalisation of the procedure has been enacted in all jurisdictions...
Muslim views on abortion are shaped by Hadith (the words, actions, and the silent approval of the Islamic prophet Muhammad as transmitted through chains...
regularly report abortion statistics in the United States. They use different methodologies, so they report somewhat different abortion rates, but they...
Abortion is legal and free of charge upon request in Finland in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy since 1 September 2023. Between 1970 and 2023, abortion...
Abortion is illegal in the Philippines. The constitutional provision that "[The State] shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the...
Abortionin Poland is illegal except in cases where the pregnancy is a result of a criminal act or when the woman's life or health is in danger. The last...
Abortion has been legal in India under various circumstances with the introduction of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971. The Medical...
Abortionin China is legal at all stages of pregnancy and generally accessible nationwide. Abortions are available to most women through China's family...
An unsafe abortion is a life-threatening procedure. It includes self-induced abortions, abortionsin unhygienic conditions, and abortions performed by...
to as third trimester abortion, describes the termination of pregnancy by induced abortion during a late stage of gestation. In this context, late is...
Abortionin France is legal upon request until 14 weeks after conception (16 weeks after the pregnant woman's last menstrual period). Abortions at later...