Activists Protest Bill to Keep Total Abortion Ban in the Dominican Republic

Over the past few years, we have seen different developments in the fight for abortion rights across Latin America. Last year, Mexico’s Supreme Court made headlines for decriminalizing abortion, allowing doctors and medical facilities who refused to complete the procedure to be taken to court. However, there are other countries who have continued to restrict or outright ban abortion and reproductive freedoms like the Dominican Republic. This month, the Dominican Senate announced that they are days away from giving final approval to bill for a new criminal code that would keep the total abortion ban in place. It was introduced to the Senate in June, which was given initial approval, and it will soon become codified in national law. The code will criminalize abortion with no exceptions, even if the mother’s life is at risk, if the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest, or if the fetus will not carry to term. In response, local abortion rights activists have taken to the streets to protest, arguing that this code will drastically impact the lives of women and all people who can become pregnant and give birth, the Associated Press reported.

“We want a (criminal) Code that respects women and girls, that allows them to decide,” minority political party leader Nicole Pichardo told AP News at the protest.

As of this year, the Dominican Republic is one of four countries in LATAM that continue to criminalize abortion without exceptions, with the other three being El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In the D.R., women can face a maximum of two years in prison for having the procedure. Meanwhile, doctors and midwives can be prosecuted and imprisoned anywhere from five to 20 years. In addition to criminalizing abortion, their new criminal code also reduces the punishments for those committing domestic violence against their spouse. Additionally, sexual orientation will be removed from the list of protected identities and churches will become exempt from criminal liability, allowing discrimination, spousal abuse, money laundering, and corruption to keep happening without legal repercussions.

As a result of the total ban, black market abortion clinics are the only resources available which can be both costly and dangerous. The rate of maternal mortality in the Dominican Republic is 107 for every 100,000 live births, above that of the average for the Latin America region, which is 88 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births, The Guardian reported. Abortion is the third leading cause of maternal death in the country, according to the International Planned Parenthood Federation.

“[Abortion] is a blatant and total business. There is a double standard and a hidden market that capitalises on women’s ovaries and extracts money from them,” Faby Espinal, a member of Aquelarre RD, a grassroots feminist collective in the city of Bonao, told The Guardian.

In the meantime, local activists and organizations are continuing to fight against the new code. While total decriminalization is the goal, activists are calling for abortion to at least be legalized when the mother’s life is at risk, if the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest, and when the pregnancy may result in a stillbirth or other complication.

“Forcing women and girls to continue a pregnancy or turn to unsafe abortion when their life is in danger, or when a pregnancy is unviable or caused by rape or incest, is dangerous and cruel and violates human rights,”Ximena Casas, women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, said on the HRW website. “The Dominican Republic should end the total abortion ban without delay and affirm women’s and girls’ rights and dignity by allowing them to make decisions about their health care.”