Honduras ratifies constitutional changes on abortion: 4 things to know

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Tuesday, February 02, 2021

Anti-abortion history

Executive Director of Alternatives Pregnancy Center Janet Lyons points to a plastic replica of a fetus at twelve weeks which is used to show women who come into the center to find out if they are pregnant and what the stage of growth looks like, in Waterloo, Iowa, July 6, 2011. | REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi

Even before the constitutional amendment was approved, Honduras banned elective abortion in 1982.

In 2017, an attempt was made to decriminalize the procedure in cases of rape, incest and the health of the mother. But the measure was rejected.

The Honduras Constitution section on “Individual Rights” states in Article 65 that the “right to life is inviolable." Article 66 states that the death penalty is prohibited.

A doctor who performs an abortion can face between three and 10 years in prison under the country’s criminal code. Meanwhile, according to Human Rights Watch, the woman seeking an abortion can face up to six years in prison.

In 2009, the nation moved to ban the morning-after pill usage, equating the use of the pill to abortion. The Honduras Supreme Court upheld the ban in 2012.