Nicaragua's Abortion Ban Putting Women's Lives At Risk, Human Rights Watch Report Says

Reference: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com

Nicaragua's abortion ban is endangering women's lives because it has failed to ensure medical care is offered to women, including those with obstetric emergencies, according to a Human Rights Watch report released Tuesday, the AP/International Herald Tribune reports (AP/International Herald Tribune, 10/2). The report said the ban has caused the death of at least 80 women since it was implemented last year (Reuters, 10/2).

Nicaragua's Asamblea Nacional, the national Legislature, in October 2006 voted 52-0 with nine abstentions and 29 not present to pass a bill that bans abortion in all cases, and President Enrique Bolanos in November 2006 signed the measure into law. According to the law, women convicted of having an illegal abortion and those convicted of assisting them receive mandatory six-year prison sentences (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 1/10). Wendy Flores, an attorney for the Nicaraguan Human Rights Center, said she has asked the country's Supreme Court to declare the law unconstitutional because it puts the lives of women at risk, but she said the court so far has ignored her request.

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