Ecuadorian legislators have approved regulations to allow women and girls access to abortions in cases of rape, after a Constitutional Court ruling that decriminalised such abortions. According to a report in The Guardian, previously, Ecuador allowed abortions only when a woman’s life was endangered by pregnancy. Passed on a 75-41 vote, with 14 lawmakers abstaining, the new measure allows abortions up to 12 weeks of pregnancy for adult women in urban areas and up to 16 weeks for minors and adults in rural areas.
The vote comes after the Constitutional Court gave the green light for abortion in cases of rape last April and ordered legislators to speedily regulate the procedure. Though the National Assembly adopted the regulations with 75 votes in favour, 41 against and 14 abstentions, the rules can still be blocked by conservative President Guillermo Lasso before becoming law. Lasso has said he personally did not support abortion but would allow lawmakers to regulate the procedure as long as they did not exceed court stipulations.
Women over 18 will be able to abort pregnancies arising from rape until 12 weeks’ gestation, while teens and girls under 18 will have until 18 weeks’ gestation.
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