Nicaraguans Demand Approval of Abortion Again
Groups of female and civil rights organizations took to the streets again on Tuesday, demanding the legal restitution of therapeutic abortion in Nicaragua.

Demonstrators gathered outside the Supreme Court of Justice, demanding a verdict on the appeal lodged against the abolition of this medical practice two months ago.

Though the protest run peacefully, there were moments when the protesters blocked the Pan American road leading to the country's top legal body.

Therapeutic abortion was declared illegal in Nicaragua on October 26, 2006, amid the electoral campaign, under strong pressure by the Catholic Church, with four to eight-year sentences for women who undergo abortions and physicians involved in the practice.

The practice used to be legal since 1891 for cases in which the mother's life was at risk or the conception was a result of rape or incest, and whenever the decision was taken by three doctors, with the pregnant woman's family consent.

After its penalization, Nicaragua joined Chile, El Salvador, Honduras and the Vatican, the only countries in the world where the practice is banned, even if it implies the death of the pregnant woman.