PL abortion pockets is ‘equivalent to torture’, says UN letter

If promulgated, the PL would amend Article 128 of the Penal Code to criminalize the interruption of pregnancy over 22 weeks of gestation, regardless of the circumstances currently authorized by law, such as rape or threat to women’s life.

“The proposed penalties are equivalent to those of the crime of simple homicide, with a penalty of imprisonment of six to twenty years,” he says.

Currently, the interruption of pregnancy is only legally allowed in three circumstances: in cases of rape, when the life of the woman or girl is at risk, or when the fetus suffers from anencephaly. In such cases, there is no gestational limit for the interruption of pregnancy.

The letter, signed by reporters Laura Nyirinkindi (President of the Women’s Discrimination Working Group), Alexandra Xanthaki (Rapporteur for Cultural Rights), Morris Tidball-Binz (Rapporteur on Summary Executions) and KP Ashwini (Rapporteur on Discrimination).

“We express our serious concern about the fact that Bill 1904/2024 and the Proposed Constitutional Amendment 164/2012, if approved, will be able to further infringe the internationally agreed standards related to the dignity and rights of women and girls,” he said.

“Continuous and expanded criminalization of abortion, including as proposed for pregnancies over 22 weeks, would affect several other women and girls’ rights, putting their lives and health at risk,” they warned.

For them, girls would be disproportionately affected by these provisions. “We remember that the pregnancy of children and adolescents poses significant risks to their lives and can have lasting consequences for their mental and physical well-being,” says the letter. According to the UN, girls 15 to 19 are twice as chances of dying during childbirth than women 20 years or older.