President Lasso partially vetoed the rape abortion law in Ecuador

The president confirmed in a letter his position already anticipated in previous days not to enact the rule in the Official Register, disagreeing with the deadlines for access to termination of pregnancy and considering that it did not address all the aspects demanded by the Constitutional Court in its ruling

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

The President of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, imposed a partial veto on the law regulating abortion in cases of rape, recently approved by the National Assembly (Parliament), following a ruling by the Constitutional Court that decriminalized the termination of pregnancy for raped women.

Lasso, a conservative trend, confirmed in a letter published on social networks his position already anticipated in previous days of not promulgating the regulation in the Official Register, disagreeing with the deadlines for access to abortion and considering that it did not address all the aspects demanded by the Constitutional Court in its ruling.

Among the 61 observations that Lasso will present to the Legislature in a new text, it will unify into twelve weeks the maximum legal time for terminating pregnancy in the event of rape and will develop aspects such as the requirements for access to abortion and the conditions for conscientious objection of medical personnel.

Thus, it eliminates the eighteen-week exception contemplated by the Assembly for girls, adolescents, indigenous people and other women in rural areas.

Ecuadorian National Assembly

Historically in Ecuador, abortion has been punishable by imprisonment, except that a doctor practises it to save the life of a pregnant woman or in case of rape of a person with mental disabilities.

This changed with the ruling handed down by the Constitutional Court on April 29, 2021 that decriminalized abortion for any raped woman and entrusted the Assembly with the task of drawing up a regulation for its procedure in public and private health institutions.

With the partial veto, the president now has to send an alternative text to the Assembly, and the Assembly can approve it with a simple majority (half plus one) or be ratified in the original text, for which two-thirds of the House (92 votes) is required.

Before Lasso's veto was formalized, feminist organizations and collectives in Ecuador already anticipated that they will continue their legal battle to bring the law into force.

(With information from EFE)

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