A year later, free abortion in Colombia is a success, but girls, adolescents and women are still persecuted and punished.
One year after Judgment C-055 of 2022, which allowed free abortion up to week 24, Jacarandas has counseled 3,686 girls, adolescents and women, of whom 2,217 were seeking access to abortion.
Jacarandas is organizing meeting spaces and has managed to build a community of adolescents and women around free abortion.
Further progress must be made to eliminate the stigma of abortion, since it remains the main obstacle to the ruling of the Constitutional Court.
After a year of work implementing Judgment C-055 of 2022, Jacarandas' work has demonstrated that there are good and bad experiences in free abortion in Colombia. On the one hand, most of the women who have searched for us through the Jacarandas Line have had good experiences with access to free abortion. On the other hand, we continue to know cases that turn into nightmares and that need our litigation team.
The Jacarandas Line has counseled an average of 16 people a day, of whom 10 are for abortion visits and 6 for other issues. We have arrived to 200 municipalities in 28 of Colombia's 32 departments. We have also served women from 20 cities outside the country.
The myth that abortion is only for privileged women is shattered. 96% of the women who have contacted the Jacarandas Line are under 30 years of age. 90% of women who need an abortion are less than 12 weeks pregnant, breaking the conservative lie that abortion in Colombia is done in late stages. And look at this fact: 26% of the people who arrive at the Line are minors. We have counseled 495 children under 18 years of age, of which 10 have been girls under 14 years of age.
We have had to accompany very complex cases: a woman was forced to go to three different hospitals, A 13-year-old girl with Down syndrome was made to feel bad about seeking an abortion despite being abused, A minor was asked for parental permission when it is not necessary, and we know of schools that misinform about the right to abortion, such as María Auxiliadora de Cartago (Valle). This has led us to file 137 legal actions, 21 guardianships, 60 complaints to the Superintendency of Health, 51 complaints to the municipal departments of Health and 6 complaints to the Courts of Medical Ethics.
To celebrate the ruling and continue building community, Jacarandas has called for four activities in Bogotá:
- February 21st. Sit-in in front of the Constitutional Court at 11 a.m. Cultural space in Casa Fuego from 4 p.m., where we will launch our guide to medical abortion.
- February 22nd. Discussion at the University of Los Andes on how to access a free abortion based on the Jacarandas experience.
- February 23rd. Pedagogy day at Javeriana University with a picnic and a joint class from the Faculty of Law.
- February 24th. First meeting of the health sector on experiences and challenges in the implementation of the right to voluntary interruption of pregnancy. It was organized with Profamilia, and the District Secretariat of Health.
We continue to fight for all girls, adolescents and women to have access to free abortion.
The Jacarandas Line continues to grow to reach more people across the country. Please share that the toll-free access number is +573145929359
Contact details for interviews/inquiries
Viviana Bohorquez Monsalve
Director Jacarandas Cell Phone: +573017887871 Email: viviana.bohorquez1@gmail.com
Viviana Bohorquez Monsalve
Director: Jacarandas
Mobile Phone: +573017887871 Email: viviana.bohorquez1@gmail.comWww.somosjacarandas.com
