From Caribbean News Now

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — On 14 December, the Senate, the upper chamber of the Dominican Republic Congress, approved a new version of the Criminal Code that represents a step back for the rights of Dominican Republic women and girls. The text was previously approved by the Chamber of Deputies in July.

This reform is a regression from the previous version of the Criminal Code adopted in 2014, as it now only allows for abortion to be decriminalized where the pregnancy poses a risk to the life of a pregnant woman or girl, and only after “all attempts had been made to save both the lives of the woman and the foetus”.

Dominican women’s rights groups are concerned that this exception is too restrictive and will make it impossible in practice for women and girls whose lives are at risk to access abortion services. Under the current reform, women will receive criminal sanctions of two to three years’ imprisonment and health professionals who provide abortion services between four to ten years. The text is now expected to be sent to President Danilo Medina for promulgation.

In 2014, the president vetoed a previous attempt to maintain the full ban on abortion and argued that the three circumstances for decriminalization are necessary to protect women and girls’ rights to life, health and respect to their human dignity and physical and moral integrity, which, he acknowledged, are guaranteed by the Dominican Constitution and international human rights treaties ratified by the Dominican Republic.

The president has the power to object the proposed reform and insist on the exceptions to the criminalization of abortion in the three circumstances, as he did in 2014.

“Any other action would constitute a regression in the rights of women and girls,” said Amnesty International.

For more on this story go to: http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/topstory-Dominican-Republic-senate-approves-restriction-of-abortion-rights-32903.html

IMAGE: Stay at Home Mum