President Lasso Partially Rejected Rape Abortion Law in Ecuador

In the letter, the President confirmed his position, considering that the day before, he did not expect to establish rules in the official register, did not agree on the deadline for termination of pregnancy and did not cover all the aspects that the Constitutional Court required by the ruling.

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El presidente de Ecuador, Guillermo
El presidente de Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, en una fotografía de archivo. EFE/ Ricardo Maldonado

Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso has exercised a partial veto on the law regulating abortion in cases of rape recently approved by the National Assembly (Congress), following a decision by the Constitutional Court that decriminalized the termination of pregnancy for rape women.

The noose, a conservative trend, confirmed his position in a letter published on social networks that he considered that he did not previously publish the regulations of the official register, did not agree with the deadlines for the access to abortion, and did not cover all aspects from the ruling of the Constitutional Court.

Of the 61 observations that Lasso will present to the Legislature with a new text, it will consolidate the maximum legal time to terminate pregnancy in the event of rape to 12 weeks and develop aspects such as requirements for access to abortion and conditions for conscientious objection to health care workers.

Therefore, it removes the 18-week exception considered by Congress for girls, youth, indigenous people and other women in rural areas.

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Historically, in Ecuador, it was punished for abortion, except when doctors practiced abortion to save the life of a pregnant woman or raped someone with a mental disorder.

This was due to a ruling issued by the Constitutional Court on April 29, 2021, which made it possible to decriminalize the abortion of women who were raped and delegated the task of creating regulations on procedures in public and private health institutions to Congress.

With a partial veto, the President is now required to send an alternative text to the General Assembly, which can be approved by Congress as a simple majority (half +1) or ratified as the original. Two thirds of the House of Representatives (92 votes) are required.

Before the veto of the lasso was formalized, feminist groups and groups in Ecuador had already expected to continue the legal fight to enforce the law.

(Including information from EFE)

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