Colombia's highest courts aren't on the same page when it comes to abortion–which actually signals a victory for Catholic hospitals that oppose the practice.
LifeSite News reports that Colombia's Council of State, the country's highest administrative court, has declared that a decree to implement policies requiring all hospitals to perform abortions in cases of rape and incest is illegal.
The case dates back to 2006, when Colombia's Constitutional Court struck down a total ban on abortions and "legalized abortion in cases of rape, incest, fetal malformation or for the life of the mother." Following this ruling, the Ministry of Social Protection (MSP) issued a decree requiring hospitals to perform abortions in those cases.
But in this ruling, the Council of State said the MSP decree was invalid because it did not come from the National Congress, the only body authorized to implement Constitutional Court rulings.
CT routinely reports on abortion, and recently has noted the legalization of abortion in heavily Catholic Latin American countries.
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