Abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

is completely prohibited under any circumstance, and has been constitutionally prohibited since 1982. The country's constitutional prohibition on abortion was further cemented by the country's

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

on January 22, 2021. In order to change this law, a three-quarters majority in the Congress will be required, or 96 out of 128 votes. Like in its neighbors

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

and

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

, abortion is prohibited even in cases of rape, even though United Nations experts have found that denial of abortion can constitute torture in certain cases. This is worsened by the fact that Honduras has one of the worst rates of sexual violence. This has been cited as a reason for migration from the country. This is compounded by the fact that Honduras also prohibits the use of

emergency contraception Emergency contraception (EC) is a birth control measure, used after sexual intercourse to prevent pregnancy. There are different forms of EC. Emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs), sometimes simply referred to as emergency contraceptives (ECs), o ...

, the only country in the region to do so. This law to prohibit the morning-after pill was vetoed by then-president

Manuel Zelaya José Manuel Zelaya Rosales (born 20 September 1952)Encyclopædia BritannicaManuel Zelaya/ref> is a Honduran politician who was President of Honduras from 27 January 2006 until 28 June 2009, and who since January 2022 serves as the first Fir ...

in 2009, but it was signed into law after he was removed in the

2009 Honduran coup d'état The 2009 Honduran coup d'état, part of the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, occurred when the Honduran Army on 28 June 2009 followed orders from the Honduran Supreme Court to oust President Manuel Zelaya and send him into exile. Zelaya h ...

. It was upheld by the country's

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in 2012.

Possible change

In 2021, the country elected

Xiomara Castro Iris Xiomara Castro Sarmiento (; born 30 September 1959), also known as Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, is a Honduran politician who is the 56th president of Honduras, in office since January 2022. She is the country's first female president, having ...

as its first woman president. She has pledged to legalize abortion under circumstances of rape, risk to the mother's life, and deformities to the fetus, and also to make the morning-after pill accessible. Since the prohibition on emergency contraception was written by executive order, it can be reversed unilaterally. However, independent analysts state it will be difficult for her to secure the votes in Congress to change the prohibition on abortion.

References

{{Abortion

Society of Honduras Health in Honduras Law of Honduras Women's rights in Honduras

Possible change

See also

References