Resumen : The juridical treatment of abortion has undergone profound transformation in much of the world. The idea that in some cases the mother's rights merit protection even at the cost of an embryonic existence has taken root in many countries, but not Peru. Peru's 1991 penal code, like its 1924 predecessor, regulates abortion among crimes against life, the body, and health. The only exception to the condemnation is therapeutic abortion performed by a physician with the woman's consent to save her life or avoid grave and permanent damage to her health. Peru's General Health Law and 1984 National Population Policy Law recognize the right of individuals and couples to decide freely and responsibly the number of their children, but both exclude abortion as a method for terminating unwanted pregnancy. Circumstances that cause thousands of women to resort to abortion as a last resort, such as rape, incest, poverty, and fetal malformation, are not accepted in Peruvian legislation. Peru resorts to penal repression to control the problem of abortion, but the failure to address root causes obliges women to seek illegal and often dangerous clandestine abortions. The 1997 General Health Law requires physicians to report evidence of illegal abortion. The various human rights conventions have inspired some legislatures to decriminalize early abortion. A recent decision of Colombia's Constitutional Court provides an important precedent for decriminalization of abortion in Latin America. The real consequences of existing legislation for the status of abortion in Peru should be analyzed from a human rights perspective.
Notes : Español/espagnol/Spanish, nbsp;Abstract : Popline (http://db.jhuccp.org/popinform/basic.html) - PIP 165843