Legal abortion in Ecuador: how the Constitutional Court decriminalized abortion in cases of rape

ABSTRACT

Ecuador has some of the most punitive laws on abortion in America. Traditionally, Ecuador has allowed abortion in two cases: rape against a woman with a mental disability and threat to a woman’s life or health. However, on 28 April 2021, the Constitutional Court of Ecuador decriminalized abortion in all cases of rape. In Case 34–19-IN/21, the Court determined that Article 150 section 2 of the Ecuadorean Criminal Code (COIP) unconstitutionally discriminated against women without mental disabilities who wanted to interrupt unwanted pregnancies resulting from rape. The implications of the Case 34–19-IN/21 decision are decisive because it advances women’s sexual and reproductive rights in Ecuador. In decriminalizing abortion in all cases of rape, the Court stressed that equality, nondiscrimination and human dignity must be the legislative guidelines of parliaments and also the limits to the punitive power of states. To explain these relevant aspects, this commentary follows a socio-legal approach to contextually explore Case 34–19-IN/21, report on the current situation of decriminalization of abortion in Ecuador and reflect on what could happen after such an important constitutional ruling.

RÉSUMÉ

Les lois équatoriennes sur l’avortement sont parmi les plus punitives d’Amérique. Traditionnellement, le droit pénal équatorien a autorisé l’avortement dans deux cas : le viol d’une femme handicapée mentale et la menace à la vie ou la santé de la femme. Cependant, le 28 avril 2021, la Cour Constitutionnelle de l’Équateur a dépénalisé l’avortement dans tous les cas de viol. Dans l’Affaire 34-19-IN/21, la Cour a déterminé que l’article 150 S.2 du Code pénal était inconstitutionnellement discriminatoire à l’égard des femmes sans handicap mental qui voulaient interrompre des grossesses non désirées résultant d’un viol. Les implications de cette décision sont indéniables parce qu’elle fait avancer les droits sexuels et reproductifs des femmes en Équateur. En dépénalisant l’avortement dans tous les cas de viol, la Cour a souligné que l’égalité, la nondiscrimination, et la dignité humaine doivent être les lignes directrices des assemblées nationales ainsi que les limites de la sphère punitive des États. Pour expliquer ces aspects pertinents, ce commentaire suit une approche socio-juridique pour explorer contextuellement l’Affaire 34-19-IN/21, pour rendre compte de la situation actuelle de la dépénalisation de l’avortement, et pour réfléchir à ce qui pourrait arriver après une décision constitutionnelle aussi importante.

KEYWORDS:

• Abortion
• rape
• decriminalization
• Ecuador

MOTS-CLÉS:

• avortement
• viol
• dépénalisation
• Equateur

Acknowledgements

I am very grateful to supervisors – Professors Bradley Bryan and Tamara Krawchenko – and my law librarians, Sarah Miller, Emily Nickerson and Jessie Lampreau. Many thanks to my first readers: Amanda Queiroz-Sierra and the editors, directors and staff of UToronto’s REPROHEALTHLAW Blog who read this paper in November 2021. Finally, I appreciate the support provided by the editors and anonymous reviewers of the Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the University of Victoria (UVic) support the author’s 2021–2022 PhD research.

Disclosure statement

The author declares that he has no conflicts of interest.

Notes

1. According to the World Health Organization, “abortion” is the deliberate interruption “of a pregnancy before the fetus is capable of extrauterine life” (World Health Organization 1995, 19). The term abortion must be differentiated from the legal terms “abortion without consent”, “abortion with consent” and “legal abortion”. Abortion without consent is the termination of a pregnancy that is performed without the consent of a pregnant woman. In contrast, abortion with consent refers to either a self-induced termination of a pregnancy or an abortion performed by any person with a pregnant woman’s consent. Whereas abortion without consent is completely forbidden in Ecuador, after the Case-34-19-IN/21 decision, abortion with consent is allowed only if it is performed by a certified doctor when a pregnant woman’s life or health is at risk or when a pregnancy is the result of rape. These two conditions determine what legal abortion is in Ecuador. See Articles 148, 149 and 150 of Código Orgánico Integral Penal [Criminal Code] (2014) Registro Oficial Suplemento 180.

2. While the Inter-American region comprehends all the members of the Organization of American States (OAS), the Inter-American Human Rights System refers to the set of rules, mechanisms and institutions designed to promote, protect and monitor the advancement of human rights within the OAS members. Its main institutions are the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Cerna 2004).

3. Social progress is “the capacity of a society to meet the basic human needs of its citizens, establish the building blocks that allow citizens and communities to enhance and sustain the quality of their lives, and create the conditions for all individuals to reach their full potential” (Porter, Stern, and Artavia Loria 2013, 2).

4. Social development “implies the continuous promotion of a more equitable distribution of opportunities, income, assets, services and power in order to achieve greater equality and equity in society. It also entails the active involvement of Governments and international and regional organizations, as well as of a broad cross-section of civil society, including the private sector, to promote greater inclusion and participation in building more democratic and equitable societies” (United Nations 2005, 5).

5. Marginalization is a social situation of severe and persistent precarity and disadvantage that restricts the socio-economic, civil and political rights of specific social groups. Marginalization finds its causes in historical and structural social inequalities and, therefore, it is not essentially limited to spatial or geographical segregation (Quijano n.d., 48–54; UNESCO 2010, 135; Kabeer 2010, 57–9).

6. In Ecuador, poverty refers to the lack sufficient income to meet basic needs ((DCHIPM) Ecuador 2008). Official statistics published in June 2022 indicate that people whose monthly family per capita income is lower than USD 87.57 are considered poor, while people whose monthly family per capita income is lower than USD 49.35 are considered extremely poor (Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos 2022; (DCHIPM) Ecuador 2008; Castillo Añazco, and Puebla Robles 2016, 8).

7. Unsafe abortion is the termination of a pregnancy that is “characterized by the lack or inadequacy of skills of the provider, hazardous techniques and unsanitary facilities” (World Health Organization 1993, 3).

8. Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the termination of a pregnancy “that is not provoked” (World Health Organization 1995, 19).

9. The right to legal counsel is the right of every person to receive legal information, opinion, advice, support and representation from a lawyer (Inter-American Court of Human Rights 1990; Cornell Law School n.d.; Pitel 2017, 453).

10. HRW does not explain what the term “companion” means in the English and Spanish versions of the report. Thus, we advise against limiting the term “companion” to partners and husbands.

11. HRW refers to Articles 179 and 424 of COIP, which refer to professional secrecy, as well as to the Ministerial Agreement No. 5195 of 20 November 2014, which approved “Guía de Práctica Clínica: Atención del aborto terapéutico” (Clinical Practice Guidelines on Therapeutic Abortion Care).

12. The relevant fragments of Articles 45 and 66 section 10 indicate:

Art. 45 […] “The State will recognize and guarantee life, including care and protection from conception […]”

Art. 66 “It is recognized and protected in favour of every person:” [“Se reconoce y garantizará a las personas:”]

10. “The right to make free, responsible and informed decisions about their health and reproductive life and to decide when and how many daughters and sons to have” (Constitución de la República del Ecuador 2008).

13. Article 86 section 2 states: “Abortion performed by a certified doctor with the consent of a pregnant woman is not punishable: […] 2. If the pregnancy results from rape or indecent assault committed on an idiot or insane woman […]” (Argentinian Criminal Code).

14. The numbers of the lawsuits are: Case 34–19-IN, filed on 30 July 2019; Case 105–20-IN, filed on 10 November 2020; Case 109–20-IN, filed on 18 November 2020; Case 115–20-IN, filed on 10 December 2020; Case 23–21-IN, filed on 11 March 2021; Case 25–21-IN, filed on 22 March 2021; Case 27–21-IN, filed on 8 April 2021.

15. The Court refers to Case −1894-20-JP (4 March 2020).

16. “A principle providing that, if a law relating to an offense is enacted or amended after the offense was committed, the more lenient law applies” (Fellmeth and Horwitz 2009).

17. The specific norms are: Organization of American States (OAS), American Convention on Human Rights, “Pact of San José. Costa Rica (22 November 1969), Article 9; UN General Assembly, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (16 December 1966) vol. 999, United Nations, Treaty Series, 171, Article 15s.1; UN General Assembly, Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (17 July 1998), Article 24s.2; Constitución de la República del Ecuador 2008, Article 76s.5; COIP, Article 5 s.2.

18. The term hyper-presidentialism was used by Carlos Santiago Nino (1992, 640–1) to describe the expansive accumulation and exercise of power by the executive branch of government at the expense of other branches and levels of government in Argentina.

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Esteban Vallejo Toledo

Esteban Vallejo Toledo/ˈstɛbən vəˈdʒɛhɔ tɔˈlɛdɔ/is a PhD student in Law & Society at University of Victoria (UVic).