Why does the fight for the decriminalization of abortion in Venezuela demands a debate free of moral and religious considerations?

Hundreds of women together with social organizations, feminist groups and human rights movements, took this Tuesday the main streets and avenues of Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, to demand – en masse – the legal and social decriminalization of abortion in the South American country and with a particular request, that a debate be opened «free of moral and religious considerations».

The call, carried out through the Ruta Verde (Green Route) campaign, began in the early hours of the morning with a rally held in the Morelos Plaza of Bellas Artes, a place that served as the starting point of a massive march that demands that the voluntary interruption of a pregnancy stop being criminalized, because in Venezuela abortion is criminalized except when it is considered that there are threats to the woman’s health.

For this reason, the more than 50 organizations and social movements that participated in the mobilization signed a statement against the criminalization of the voluntary interruption of a pregnancy that was presented in the Venezuelan Parliament, that demands that the legislators immediately repeal the articles 430, 431, 433 and 434 of the current Penal Code, which criminalize abortion.

In the document that was delivered to the National Assembly, they also propose to parliamentarians to draft new «legislation to guarantee the right of women to safe abortion» and that it be discussed in the 2021-2022 legislative agenda.

In addition, this broad front of women and social organizations asks the Legislative Power to open a national debate on abortion based on respect for human rights, ethics and scientific evidence, which must be also «free from moral and religious considerations, as is appropriate in a secular State».

Why decriminalize abortion in Venezuela?

The groups emphasize that the Penal Code, a legal text that has not received modifications on abortion for more than 100 years, criminalizes and stigmatizes almost all women who decide to interrupt their pregnancy.

«We agree and unite our voices to reveal that there are no valid scientific or legal arguments that support the criminalization of abortion, practically without exception, still in force in Venezuela», says part of the text.

They also highlight that «the ‘crimes’ of abortion are only the cause of death and disabling injuries suffered disproportionately by the most vulnerable» and add that the criminalization of abortion violates the human rights of women, girls and adolescents in regards to their personal integrity, health and development of their personality.

Likewise, they denounce that the current Venezuelan legal framework violates the right of women not to be subjected to torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and «to live a life free of violence».

«The provisions of the Penal Code, without modifications for more than one hundred years, does not offer a coherent interpretation of the constitutional and international framework of human rights and maintains the national legal norm on these rights, among the most retrograde in South America», they add.

How are the ‘crimes’ of abortion described and why do they threaten a woman’s life?

The four articles of the Penal Code questioned by women’s groups and which they demand that they be immediately repealed by the Venezuelan Parliament, pose four types of crimes related to abortion.

Article 430 talks about «attempted self-abortion»; 431 on «consensual abortion»; 433 of «aggravated abortion» and 434 of «honor abortion.»

In all cases, social movements consider that the qualifications to criminalize the interruption of pregnancy represent a threat against the life of the woman and her free development, in addition to being discriminatory and represent a flagrant violation against her human rights.

«This violation of human rights is doubly discriminatory. On the one hand, it only affects women, girls and adolescents given their specific reproductive condition, and on the other, it particularly hits those who are in a situation of poverty, who are exposed to being deprived of their liberty, diminished in their physical integrity or to die in the attempt to aspire to a viable life project», they explained.

In addition, they highlight that the criminalization of abortion «is a public health problem, which causes the preventable death of women, girls and adolescents», since the interruption of a pregnancy with unsafe methods is «the third cause of the high mortality rate in women who are pregnant» in Venezuela .

This, «not counting the important under-registration of clandestine abortions», also causes a morbidity that «disabled hundreds of women, adolescents and girls», who must live and face the stigma of illegality.