Colombia's top court has voted to legalise abortion in some cases, easing a complete ban on the procedure in the Catholic country.
The long-awaited decision by the Constitutional Court, which voted 5-3 in favor of the changes, cannot by overturned by the Supreme Court.
Under the decision, abortions will be permitted in the cases of rape, incest and if the life of the mother or foetus is in danger. Abortion under all other circumstances will remain illegal, punishable by up to three years in jail for the woman and the doctor performing the procedure.
"The Court fulfilled its duty in recognizing the right of Colombian women," said lawyer Monica Roa, who spearheaded the lengthy legal battle to overturn the abortion ban, told Caracol radio last night.
Prior to the ruling, Colombia, El Salvador and Chile were the only countries in Latin America where performing an abortion was illegal under any circumstances.
The issue became a hot topic of debate in the campaign ahead of presidential elections at the end of May.
Conservative President Alvaro Uribe has voiced concern that easing the ban could be taken advantage of by women to abort unwanted pregnancies of any type. His main challengers supported partial legalisation.
Representatives of the Catholic Church in Colombia had rejected any modification to the current laws. In anticipation of the court's decision, anti-abortion groups took out ads in newspapers calling abortion "a moral problem and not an issue of public health."
It's estimated that as many 400,000 illegal abortions are performed each year in Colombia, the majority in unsanitary, clandestine clinics.
AP