Nicaragua bans all abortions

Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos on Friday signed into law a bill that bans abortion in all cases, the New York Times reports (McKinley, New York Times, 11/20).

Nicaragua's Asamblea Nacional, the national Legislature, in October voted 52-0 with nine abstentions and 29 not present to pass the bill.

Under the law, women convicted of having an illegal abortion and those convicted of assisting them receive mandatory six-year prison sentences.

The law eliminates exceptions to the country's abortion ban allowing procedures in cases of rape or when three physicians certify a woman's health is at risk.

According to the reproductive rights group Ipas, 24 legal abortions have been preformed in the country in the last three years, and about 32,000 illegal abortions are preformed annually.

The Women's Autonomous Movement of Nicaragua, a women's rights group, in October said it would file an injunction if the bill was approved.

In addition, Jose Miguel Vivanco, executive director of Human Rights Watch's Americas division, has said the legislation's passage could lead to lawsuits filed in international court, as Nicaragua has accepted the authority of the Costa Rica-based Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 10/27).

According to Bolanos spokesperson Lindolfo Mojarretz, the measure will take effect when it appears in the official register on Nov. 25, the AP/Washington Post reports (Frazier, AP/Washington Post, 11/18).

Once the law takes effect, Nicaragua will join Chile and El Salvador as the only countries in the Western hemisphere to ban abortion without any exceptions (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 10/27).