With six votes, the Justice table of the National Assembly approved the text that must be corroborated or denied in the plenary session of the National Assembly
The voluntary interruption of pregnancy due to rape in Ecuador may be carried out up to 28 weeks for women over 18 years of age and without a term for girls, adolescents under 18 years of age and women with disabilities.
This was resolved by six legislators from the Justice Commission of the National Assembly meeting on January 10 to discuss and approve the report of the organic law project that guarantees the voluntary interruption of the pregnancy of girls, adolescents and women in the event of rape. This report will be passed on to the plenary session of the legislature for its approval.
The Justice table was installed at 09:30 to open the debate on the bill on the voluntary interruption of pregnancy due to rape and in the morning the discussion focused on determining that in Ecuador abortion due to rape should not be considered a right.
Legislative Commission determines that abortion for rape will not be a right in Ecuador
The motion on article 19 of the bill, which defines the period in which the abortion must occur, was presented by the assemblyman of Unión por la Esperanza (UNES) José Agualsaca, in which he determines that “in order to guarantee the right to take a free and voluntary decision to interrupt the pregnancy of girls, adolescent women and pregnant persons who are victims of rape, the maximum period for medical intervention will be:
- 28 weeks’ gestation for women over 18 years of age.
- No deadline for girls, adolescents under 18 years of age and women with disabilities.
This motion received the support of legislators Alejandro Jaramillo and Johanna Moreira (ID); Dina Farinango (PK); Gissela Garzón, Yhajaira Urresta and José Agualsaca (UNES).
Dalton Bacigalupo (ID), Segundo Chimbo and Ricardo Vanegas (PK) spoke against it.
The Assemblyman of the ID Dalton Bacigalupo, when reasoning his vote, warned that the motion of the Assemblyman Agualsaca violates the resolution of the Constitutional Court.
Legislator Sofía Espín (UNES) commented that repeatedly the Constitutional Court orders to put time for the interruption of pregnancy due to rape and in the case of the proposal of her co-chair Agualsaca does not include deadlines for girls and adolescents, when in several countries they are set as a limit twelve weeks to abort.
Talking about an abortion due to rape at 24 weeks of gestation is really putting a woman’s life at risk, Espín stressed, who also said that this proposal leaves girls and adolescents very concerned.
Assemblywoman Gissela Garzón, co-leader of Espín, stressed that in other countries there are no grounds to allow abortion, and taking into account that medical professionals attend to hundreds of cases permanently and that the cases that girls pass through, she voted in favor.
The correista Yhajaira Urresta, in supporting Agualsaca’s motion, said that she is answering a little thirteen-year-old girl who asked her how she will call her children: brothers or sons.
On the other hand, Ricardo Vanegas from the ranks of Pachakutik commented that the Constitutional Court has been clear in indicating that there must be deadlines and with the motion raised by the legislator José Agualsaca, a lack of protection of the unborn child is being privileged and the feticide is being implemented since the National Assembly, which is why it voted against. (I)
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