Lawmakers in Honduras are fighting to make a change to the nation’s constitution to lock in a ban on abortion for the whole country. The new amendment states that “those who are yet to be born will be considered born, for the purposes of the law,” and further goes on to say that an abortion carried out by a third party or the mother is prohibited. Lawmakers are also adding language to the bill to make it harder for it to be rolled back in the future. A section of it states that the “article could be changed only by a three-quarters majority of the congress.” It also states that “any laws passes subsequently that contradict this article will be null and void.” The only other countries in Central America to also have nation-wide abortion bans are El Salvador and Nicaragua. In contrast, Argentina, Cuba, Uruguay, and Mexico City have all legalized abortions.
Women in countries where abortion is punishable also face “a high incidence of sexual assault and unwanted pregnancies.” Latin America is the most restrictive region in the world when it comes to abortion, but no matter how much legislature is passed, women with unwated pregnancies will find ways to obtain an abortion. By making it punishable under the law, it can increase crime rates and even result in higher death rates among women. Making an amendment to the constitution could also lead other conservative leaning countries in the region to vote and make the same restrictions. Changing the constitution is extremely difficult, but if lawmakers in Honduras accomplish it, other countries will see it as an easier feat to overcome, and will most likely follow in the footsteps of Honduras and make the laws harder to repeal.
Although Honduras isn’t officially in the category of “regional power”, the change to the constitution could move the nation into “cultural/ideological power”. Since most of the other countries in the region share similar values with Honduras, especially when it comes to abortion, the change to the constitution will be seen as a major win in the region, and other countries might look at it as inspiration to follow the same path.