Abortion Advocates Claim Nicaragua Violating
Human Rights By Denying Abortion.
By Aracely Ornelas
One of the world’s largest abortion
advocates joined the onslaught against
Nicaragua’s decision to ban abortion in two
recently published Spanish language reports.
Ipas, known for distributing the manual
vacuum aspirator – a device used to perform
early term abortions, particularly in
countries where it is illegal – is claiming
that Nicaragua is violating women’s human
rights.
The Ipas reports claim that the abortion ban
is unconstitutional and a "setback" for
human rights. Nicaraguan lawmakers, on the
other hand, say the ban is a step forward
since the law which permitted “therapeutic”
abortion violated the country’s
understanding of its international
obligations. Nicaragua is party to the
American Convention on Human Rights which
states in Article 4 that life shall be
protected by law "from the moment of
conception."
The Nicaraguan representatives who initiated
the abortion ban say that the new law also
makes the penal code more consistent with
the constitutional framework which was
amended to explicitly recognize the right to
life of every citizen after the death
penalty was abolished.
Pro-life advocates point out that Ipas’
definition of “therapeutic abortion” proves
that the lawmakers’ position is right: the
former law allowed a loophole for ever
expanding access to abortion. Indeed, one
report’s glossary of terms expands the
definition of saving "the life and health of
the mother" as also including pregnancies
resulting from particular circumstances,
such as rape or incest. And while the
reports say that "therapeutic abortion ban
excludes many women who need it to save
their lives," the Nicaraguan government
insists that the ban does not prohibit
medical procedures to save a woman's life.
Critics also note that the reports ignore
the two most successful methods of reducing
maternal mortality: increasing skilled
attendants at birth and improving the
availability and delivery of optimum
pre-natal and post-natal healthcare for
mothers and their children.
Recent health data also show that the ban
may be saving more women’s lives. Statistics
from the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health (MINSA),
released since the ban was implemented,
indicates a reduction in maternal mortality
by 58% between 2008 and 2009. Despite the
indications of progress in reducing maternal
mortality, the Ipas reports use “reducing
maternal deaths” as a cornerstone of their
argument against the ban. In doing so, they
join various UN agencies and
non-governmental organizations who are
pressuring the government to overturn the
ban on the grounds that liberal abortion
laws are necessary to reduce maternal
mortality.
The Ipas reports also paint a dire picture
for doctors in Nicaragua, asserting that
abortion ban violates the right to free
exercise of medical professionals claiming
that the ban "forces doctors to violate
ethical principles of their profession to
prevent an abortion while endangering the
life or health of women."
The Association of Nicaraguan Doctors
countered this claim stating that, "There is
no situation, in current medical practice,
where human life from the moment of
conception, should be intentionally
destroyed by abortion in order to save the
life of the mother. A physician must do
everything possible to save the lives of
both patients – mother and child. Death
should never be inflicted on any of them. " |
