Why it is celebrated and what were its flags. Every September 28 marks a day of global mobilization in the fight for the right to legal, safe and accessible abortion. Amid a debate that continues to generate divisions and challenges across the worldthis date takes on even greater significance.
Catalina Calderón, senior director of communications and advocacy programs at the Center for Women’s Equality, explains that this day represents a big milestone in terms of sexual and reproductive health and represents important achievements in removing a barrier to access to Obstetric procedures performed in safe environments. However, he warns that the public agenda around abortion still has challenges to overcome so that this procedure benefits from all guarantees of access, information and support.
“This day is a reminder that the fight for reproductive rights is an ongoing challenge and a commitment that we cannot abandon. Although some countries like Colombia have made progress in legalizing abortion, there are still many places where women face significant barriers to accessing this procedure safely and legally, but also without the stigma or social pressure present in regions like Latin America,” she emphasizes.
In other countries in the region, such as El Salvador, Honduras and the Dominican Republic, abortion is completely prohibited, even when it endangers the woman’s life or results from rape. In Colombia, the Constitutional Court decriminalized abortion when performed before the 24th week of gestation, through Sentence C-055 of 2022. In addition, it continues to be available for the three causes decriminalized in 2006: when pregnancy poses a threat. to the health or life of the woman, when the fetus presents serious malformations which make its survival impossible and/or when the pregnancy is the result of rape, incest or non-consensual insemination.
The commemoration of this date generated a domino effect in movements across the world which opened the doors to debate on a multifaceted subject. In Colombia, the Todos Somos Una collective, in collaboration with actress Angélica Blandón, produced a series of audiovisual testimonies that illustrate the story of Camila, Rocío and Sara, three women who experienced an interruption of pregnancy up close or personal. . Camila’s story, told in the voice of the Colombian actress, was the first published by the collective.
“With this exercise, we demonstrate that all stories deserve to be heard, as indicated by the motto of this initiative available on our website. When we open ourselves to listening to the stories of women who have abortions, we understand that each has different reasons and that they are all equally valid,” says Calderón, who is also a spokesperson for the group. According to the expert, these three stories are a sample of the reality experienced by thousands of women in Colombia, who have decided to interrupt their pregnancies even in the midst of legal and institutional uncertainty, lack of information and a truncated access full of prejudices. for many of them, “who are fortunately alive today to share their story thanks to the support network that their family and friends have given them,” she emphasizes.
Faced with this, Calderón recognizes that in Colombia abortion is an issue on which there are more and more informed debates that allow progress towards more inclusive legislation capable of supporting a growing number of women throughout the national territory , although access gaps remain critical in some jurisdictions. . “The Global Day of Action for Safe and Legal Abortion invites us to act and take the lead in pursuit of broad dialogueor which enables more women to benefit from information, care and support in a timely and safe manner,” she concludes.
