Abortion law challenged in the constitutional court.

Colombia's abortion law, which outlaws the procedure under all circumstances, was challenged in Constitutional Court on April 14, 2005 by a Colombian citizen seeking to legalize abortion in the most extreme cases: when the woman's life or health is in danger, the pregnancy is the result of rape, and/or when the fetus has a malformation incompatible with life outside the womb.

The action, filed by Colombian attorney Monica Roa, represents the first time Colombia's abortion law has been challenged using international human rights arguments. Colombia has ratified several international treaties, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights, whose monitoring bodies have recommended that Colombia decriminalize abortion under the most extreme cases.

The Colombian Constitution explicitly states that international human rights treaties ratified by the legislature take precedence over national laws and serve as a guide in interpreting the rights established in the Constitution.

"The likelihood of passing a new abortion law is higher now than at any other point in Colombian history," says Roa. "Legal precedent, international law and societal attitudes towards abortion all appear to be working in favor of protecting the lives of Colombian women."

Several additional factors offer reason to believe that the challenge could be sustained by Colombia's highest court, which needs a simple majority (five out of nine) to overturn the current provisions. The Court has a female magistrate for the first time, as well as other justices who in recent years have issued statements against the criminalization of abortion in judicial arguments.

Colombian society also appears to be sympathetic to a liberalization of the abortion law. A 2003 survey of Colombian men and women who are self-identified Catholics reveals that they condone abortion when: the woman's life is in danger (73%), the woman's health is at risk (65%), in cases of serious physical or mental fetal impairment (61%), and/or the pregnancy is the result of rape (52%) (Source: Catholics for the Right to Decide).

Colombia's abortion law stipulates that both the woman who has the abortion and the abortion provider can be sentenced to up to three years in prison. Colombia, Chile and El Salvador are the only three countries in Latin America that prohibit abortion under all circumstances. Only 0.4% of the world's population lives in countries where abortion is totally banned.

Currently, 24% of all pregnancies in Colombia are terminated by abortion. Nearly 30% of women who have abortions suffer complications. Unsafe abortion is the third leading cause of maternal mortality.

Roa, 29, a native of Bogota and educated in Colombia and the United States, has advocated for legal rights for women internationally. She is the director of Gender Justice at Women's Link Worldwide, an international non-governmental organization, but is filing her legal brief with the Constitutional Court as an individual and concerned Colombian citizen.

The case will likely take four to six months to be decided by the Constitutional Court.

For more information, visit the website of Women's Link Worldwide, http:// www.womenslinkworldwide.org.

Women's Link Worldwide works to advance women's rights through the implementation of international human rights law and the use of international tribunals and strategic litigation.