Sawt Falasteen - Colombia decriminalizes abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy: court

"The performance of an abortion will only be punishable when it is carried out after the 24th week of gestation," the Constitutional Court said in a statement.

After that point, abortion will only be permitted in certain circumstances already established by the court, such as in cases of rape, if the health of the mother is in danger or if the fetus has a fatal condition.

Before Monday's ruling, abortion was only allowed under those three conditions, per a 2006 decision by the Constitutional Court.

Apart from those exceptions, both women and the doctors who performed their abortions would face prison sentences ranging from 16 to 54 months.

Hundreds of pro- and anti-abortion protesters gathered outside the court building in the capital Bogota.

Women wearing green scarves, the color of the pro-abortion movement, celebrated as it was announced the court voted 5-4 to decriminalize abortion. Nearby, anti-abortion protesters waved blue flags and knelt on the ground, praying.

"After the right to suffrage, this is the most important historic achievement, for the life, autonomy and full and equal realization of women," Bogota mayor Claudia Lopez tweeted.

Colombia is now the fifth Latin American country to decriminalize abortion access, along with Argentina, Uruguay, Cuba and Guyana.

In Mexico, the procedure is authorized for up to 12 weeks in the southern state of Oaxaca, the eastern state of Veracruz, the central state of Hidalgo and in Mexico City.

"Colombia is at the forefront of reproductive rights both regionally and globally," Catalina Martinez, a lawyer for the Causa Justa organization, told AFP.

Causa Justa sued Colombia over the unconstitutionality of the punishments for abortion. The Constitutional Court studied the group's arguments for its ruling.

X.Habash--SF-PST