Women’s Organizations In Nicaragua Fight To Repeal Law That Criminalizes Abortion
According to Nicaraguan activist Sofia Montenegro, there has been a “radicalization of the women’s movement” in recent months because of what she terms “a betrayal” of women who who were instrumental in bringing the Sandinistas to power.
“In the past few months, members of Nicaraguan non-governmental organisations have accused the government of President Daniel Ortega of persecution and threats against them, including nine women’s rights activists who face criminal charges as accomplices in the abortion undergone by “Rosita,” a nine-year-old girl who was raped and impregnated by her stepfather in 2003.
The charges are unfounded, because at that time therapeutic abortion was legal, said Montenegro, the political coordinator of the Nicaraguan Autonomous Women’s Movement.
Women’s organisations are fighting for the repeal of the October 2006 law that criminalised therapeutic abortion, said Montenegro, a former FSLN member who is one of the country’s leading women’s rights activists.
Before the law came into force, the Criminal Code permitted termination of pregnancy when the mother’s physical or mental health was in danger, including psychological harm from pregnancy arising from rape, when certified by at least three doctors.”
Read the full interview with Montenegro here.
Filed under: Uncategorized, Misogyny, Gender-Based Violence, Women's Health, Reproductive Justice, Human Rights
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