Abortion in Venezuela

Abortion in Venezuela is currently illegal except in some specific cases outlined in the Venezuelan Constitution,^[1] and the country has one of Latin America's most restrictive laws.^[2]

The punishment for a woman who has an abortion for any other reason is a prison sentence lasting anywhere between six months and two years. While the punishment for a doctor or any person who performs the procedure is between one and three years, harsher penalties may apply if the pregnant woman dies as a result of the procedure.^[3] There has been debate over this topic for several years.^[4]

The Latin American and the Caribbean region holds one of the highest rates of induced abortion in the world; it is calculated that for every 1,000 live births, there are just over 300 abortions, many of which are illegal and/or clandestine abortions.^[5] This mix of legal and illegal abortions is due to the region's diverse policies on abortion and access to reproductive healthcare.^[6] There is not a clear statistic for Venezuela-specific abortion rates, possibly due to a great majority of the abortions that occur going undocumented.^[7]

^ Brewer-Carias, Allan R. "The 1999 Venezuelan Constitution-Making Process as an Instrument for Framing the Development of an Authoritarian Political Regime, Framing the State in Times of Transition: Case Studies in Constitution Making" (PDF).
^ Hernández, Andrea Paola (2021-03-10). "Venezuelan women forced to risk online pill market in face of abortion ban". The Guardian. Caracas. Archived from the original on 2021-03-10. Retrieved 2021-05-23.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2017-06-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ Kelly, Annie (2018-08-09). "Latin America's fight to legalise abortion: the key battlegrounds". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-05-26.
^ Paxman, John; Rizo, Alberto; Brown, Laura; Benson, Janie (Aug 1993). "The clandestine epidemic: the practice of unsafe abortion in Latin America". Studies in Family Planning. 24 (4): 205–226. doi:10.2307/2939189. JSTOR 2939189. PMID 8212091.
^ "Latin America and the Caribbean". Center for Reproductive Rights. 2023-11-08. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
^ "Abortion in Latin America And the Caribbean" (PDF). Guttmacher Institute. Retrieved 13 November 2018.

[1] Brewer-Carias, Allan R. "The 1999 Venezuelan Constitution-Making Process as an Instrument for Framing the Development of an Authoritarian Political Regime, Framing the State in Times of Transition: Case Studies in Constitution Making" (PDF).

[:3-2] Hernández, Andrea Paola (2021-03-10). "Venezuelan women forced to risk online pill market in face of abortion ban". The Guardian. Caracas. Archived from the original on 2021-03-10. Retrieved 2021-05-23.

[3] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2017-06-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[4] Kelly, Annie (2018-08-09). "Latin America's fight to legalise abortion: the key battlegrounds". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-05-26.

[5] Paxman, John; Rizo, Alberto; Brown, Laura; Benson, Janie (Aug 1993). "The clandestine epidemic: the practice of unsafe abortion in Latin America". Studies in Family Planning. 24 (4): 205–226. doi:10.2307/2939189. JSTOR 2939189. PMID 8212091.

[6] "Latin America and the Caribbean". Center for Reproductive Rights. 2023-11-08. Retrieved 2023-11-13.

[7] "Abortion in Latin America And the Caribbean" (PDF). Guttmacher Institute. Retrieved 13 November 2018.

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