{"id":210991,"date":"2019-09-18T16:46:33","date_gmt":"2019-09-18T21:46:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=210991"},"modified":"2019-09-18T16:46:33","modified_gmt":"2019-09-18T21:46:33","slug":"ecuador-protect-preborn-disabilities-conceived-rape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/ecuador-protect-preborn-disabilities-conceived-rape\/","title":{"rendered":"Ecuador votes to protect preborn children with disabilities and those conceived in rape"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ecuador’s National Assembly voted on Tuesday against<\/em> decriminalizing abortion in cases of rape and prenatal diagnoses. The vote to decriminalize fell short by just five of the 70 needed for approval, with 59 voting against, and six abstaining.<\/p>\n

According to the BBC, abortion is only legal in Ecuador in the cases of rape, when a mother has a mental disability, or when the mother’s life is in danger. (In reality, abortion — an intentional act of destruction meant to deliberately kill a preborn human being —\u00a0is <\/span>not medically necessary<\/a><\/em> to save a mother’s life.) Women who do obtain abortions in the country can face up to two years in jail.<\/p>\n

The proposed bill to decriminalize abortion in cases of rape and prenatal diagnosis has been debated since January with conservatives looking to increase penalties for rapists instead of opening up access to abortion. In February, parliamentarian Pedro Curichumbi said that to legalize abortion in instances of rape “would turn [rape] into a sport or a hobby,” Reuters<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n

“The rights that we have need to be respected,” Pamela Enriquez, who was protesting the bill told the BBC. “The love and values of our parents, of our ancestors [need to] be respected, a love for life, a love for the basic respect of life.”<\/p>\n

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