Dominica Expands Legal Access to Abortion

As Belize continues to restrict abortion in most circumstances, a landmark ruling in Dominica has expanded the conditions under which women and girls there can legally end a pregnancy.  

Dominica’s High Court ruled on July 23 that abortion must be allowed in cases of rape, incest and severe fetal impairment. It must also be permitted when continuing a pregnancy would threaten the woman’s life or health.  The ruling does not fully legalize abortion. Instead, it removes criminal penalties in the specific circumstances outlined by the court. Dominica’s Government now has six months to update its laws and procedures.  Belize’s law is different. Rape and incest are not listed as automatic grounds for an abortion.  Under sections 111 and 112 of the Criminal Code, a registered medical practitioner may legally terminate a pregnancy if two doctors agree, in good faith, that continuing it would pose a greater risk to the woman’s life or physical or mental health than ending it. The doctors may also consider the health of her existing children.  An abortion is also allowed when there is a substantial risk that the child would be born with serious physical or mental abnormalities. Outside those circumstances, performing or obtaining an abortion remains a criminal offence.  The Caribbean Family Planning Affiliation has welcomed the Dominican ruling, calling it limited but important.  The organization argues that restrictive abortion laws tend to hit poor women, adolescents and survivors of sexual violence the hardest. It says criminalization does not necessarily stop abortions. Instead, it may force women to seek unsafe procedures or discourage them from getting medical care.  The organization hopes the decision will lead to a wider and more honest discussion about abortion laws across the Caribbean, many of which were inherited from the colonial period.  CFPA is now calling on governments, parliamentarians, medical professionals, faith leaders and civil society groups to take part in respectful, evidence-based discussions on the issue