In Case No. 44,823-2021 the plaintiffs, representing themselves and their minor children, filed a lawsuit against Hospital San José for inadequate medical care that led to the death of a woman on February 10, 2012, following an untreated incomplete abortion. The Second Civil Court of Santiago awarded 50,000,000 Chilean pesos in moral damages to each plaintiff. The Santiago Court of Appeals overturned the ruling and dismissed the claim.
The Guatemalan Penal Code criminalizes abortion for both the woman and the person performing it in most circumstances. Article 134 provides that a woman who seeks her own abortion may be sentenced to one to three years in prison, although the penalty may be reduced to six months to two years if the act is motivated by mental health issues directly related to the pregnancy.
Articles 143 to 145 regulate abortion in all forms. Abortion is punishable by one to three years of prison time if performed with the women's consent, and three to six years if without consent. If performed by a health professional, an additional disqualification penalty applies, which is two to five years (with consent) or four to seven years (without consent). Abortion caused by negligence carries six months to one year in prison, and the woman who consents to an abortion may be sentenced to one to two years in prison.
In 2018, the Association of Accredited Clinics for the Termination of Pregnancy (ACAI, for its initials in Spanish) produced a report concluding that 89% of women who had an abortion felt harassed, and 66% felt threatened.
Abortion is generally illegal in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, but is allowed under limited circumstances. Under Section 149(1), it is a criminal offence to unlawfully use any means to procure a miscarriage, whether or not the woman is pregnant. This carries a penalty of up to 14 years in prison.
The 2007 Law on the Promotion and Protection of Breastfeeding aims to ensure that mothers receive the necessary support to breastfeed, safeguarding both maternal and child health. Key provisions include the right to paid maternity leave for breastfeeding, access to health services and professional guidance, and a State obligation to promote exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life, followed by continued breastfeeding with appropriate complementary foods.
Organic Law 2/2010, of March 3, 2010, on sexual and reproductive health and voluntary termination of pregnancy, aims to guarantee fundamental rights in sexual and reproductive health, regulate the conditions for voluntary termination of pregnancy, and prevent and address all forms of violence against women in matters of reproduction in Spain (Article One, as it was amended by the Organic Law 1/2023, of February 28, 2023).
Law No. 21/05/2016 of 20 May 2016 Relating to Human Reproductive Health, Rwanda (entered into force on 6 June 2016)
In Police v. Apelu, the defendant, a nurse, was charged with 16 counts of unlawfully performing abortions between 2000 and 2003, contrary to Section 73A of the Crimes Ordinance 1961, which criminalizes administering or causing a miscarriage. The Court emphasized that the prosecution bore the burden of proving beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant’s actions were not done “in good faith” to preserve the life or health of the woman.
In the case Pendakwa Raya lwn Wong Ah Kean [2010], a clinic assistant performed an abortion on a woman who was over three months pregnant, agreeing to carry out the procedure for RM700 (seven hundred ringgit). The victim suffered severe blood loss during the procedure, was given pills to stop the bleeding.
