https://www.france24.com/es/am%C3%A9rica-latina/20220217-ecuador-aborto-violacion-asamblea-nacional
On February 17, 2022, the legislators of the National Assembly have approved with 75 votes in favor, 41 against, and 14 abstentions to allow abortion only if the individual was a victim of rape. However, this isn’t great news just yet. President Guillermo Lasso could veto the recently approved law. As of now, the law states:
Allows abortions up to 12 weeks of pregnancy for adult women in urban areas
Allows up to 16 weeks for minors and adults in rural areas and indigenous women.
The previous law states that abortion is illegal unless:
In the case of a threat to the life or health of a pregnant woman (when this threat cannot be averted by other means)
When the pregnancy is the result of a sexual crime against a mentally disabled woman and her legal representative has consented
Similarly, in 2019 Ecuador failed to decriminalize abortion for rape victims. Pro-choice activists have been protesting since 2019 as seen in the pictures down below. The system has failed these women once, will it do it again?
2019
[Poster: Take your praying rosaries out of our ovaries. Life is not saved just by letting it live.] https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/sep/18/clashes-erupt-after-ecuador-fails-to-decriminalize-abortion-for-victims
Similarly, pro-choice activists are stronger than ever advocating for their rights a second time around. Although the law has passed, the president still holds the power of vetoing it.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/17/ecuador-abortion-rape-cases-legal
But regardless of the president’s final decision, this law does not include Trans-man or non-binary individuals. This law is representative of the invisibility trans-individuals experience in Latin America. Awareness has been spread about this issue through a trans-organization called Asociación Silueta X. They have taken the initiative to advocate for trans-man and non-binary individuals who can still be victims of rape and end up pregnant.
They united forces with Red Trans Ecuador to send a public announcement stating their fury and beginning the advocacy towards the inclusion of trans-man and non-binary individuals in the abortion law.
Campaña (aborto trans) cuerpos gestantes hablamos del #AbortoTransEcuador - hombres trans
The future of this law and the inclusion of non-binary and trans-man is still unknown. Although other nearby countries such as Mexico and Columbia have decriminalized abortion. For Mexico, it does vary by state, and for Columbia abortion is legal but only if a mother’s life is in danger, an incomplete formulation of the fetus, rape, or incest. Despite the legalization of abortion (depending on the situation and state) in Mexico and Colombia, this does not include the trans-man or non-binary individuals in those countries. Trans-rights are dismissed and taken out of the narrative in most of Latin America.
As of now, according to Organizando Trans Diversidades, there is no official data regarding abortion among trans individuals or the death of trans-man who die from dangerous abortion procedures in Latin America. Pro-choice activists' main argument for the decriminalization of abortion is due to the danger of illegal abortion procedures. The collected data of the numerous women who have died gives them a case to fight but leaves trans-man and non-binary individuals at a disadvantage because there is no official data for them. From a global perspective, trans rights seem to be in a different decade than lesbian and gay rights. There is a lack of data documenting trans-persecution, violence, and/or frequency of all of this. It is not unusual to come across laws as such erasing trans-individuals from the narrative.
When will trans-right be recognized and visible in Latin America? Globally we are very far from it. If anything it will be through organizations such as Asociación Silueta X, Red Trans Ecuador, Organizando Trans Diversidades, and others who are/will protest until trans-rights are visible and taken into consideration in machista Latino America.
References
BBC News Mundo, (2022, February 17). Ecuador: la Asamblea Nacional aprueba el aborto para casos de violación en determinados plazos. Retreived February 18, 2022 from https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-60424720
Staff and Agencies of Quito, (2022, February 17). Ecuador legislators approve regulations allowing abortion in cases of rape. Retrieved February 18, 2022 from
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/17/ecuador-abortion-rape-cases-legal
Daniels, J. (2019, September 18). Clashes erupt after Ecuador fails to decriminalize abortion for rape victims. Retrieved February 18, 2022 from https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/sep/18/clashes-erupt-after-ecuador-fails-to-decriminalize-abortion-for-victims
PLATAFORMA NACIONAL NUEVA RED TRANS ECUADOR (2022, February 18). SIN ELIMINAR A PERSONAS GESTANTES APRUEBAN EL #ABORTOPORVIOLACIÓN EN ECUADOR. Retrieved February 18, 2022 from https://redtransecuador.org/
Gonzalez, G. (2020, September 28). Hombres trans y aborto: activistas de América Latina nos cuentan la batalla por la visibilidad. Retrieved February 18, 2022 from
PLATAFORMA NACIONAL NUEVA RED TRANS ECUADOR. (2022, February 17). SIN ELIMINAR A PERSONAS GESTANTES APRUEBAN EL #ABORTOPORVIOLACIÓN EN ECUADOR #ABORTOTRANSECUADOR. Retrieved February 18, 2022 from http://www.siluetax.org/
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