{
  "id": 11498719,
  "title": "Activists gather in Medellín to support abortion rights on global action day",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/activists-gather-in-medellin-to-support-abortion-rights-on-global",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-02T18:27:58.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Bogotá Post",
    "slug": "the-bogota-post",
    "url": "https://thebogotapost.com/activists-gather-in-medellin-to-support-abortion-rights-on-global-action-day/56783/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On September 28, activists in Medellín, Colombia's second-largest city, convened to champion women's reproductive rights on the Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion. This commemoration dates back to 1990, following the Fifth Latin American and Caribbean Feminist Encuentro which called for states to decriminalize abortion and ensure access to safe abortion services. In 2022, Colombia's Constitutional Court ruled C-055, decriminalizing abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, following a 17-month legal battle that included recusals, conflicts of interest, and a tied vote necessitating an ad hoc justice to break the deadlock.\n\nPrior to this ruling, ruling C-355 of 2006 allowed abortion without a gestational limit in cases of risk to the woman's life or health, severe fetal malformation, or pregnancy resulting from rape, incest, or non-consensual artificial insemination. Demonstrators from various rights groups took to the streets, motivated by the belief that it is vital to rise up, organize, and fight for women's rights in the face of a right-wing advance seeking to silence women's voices.\n\nWhile abortion has been a constitutional right since 2022, Colombian women still encounter significant obstacles in accessing it. Between February 2022 and February 2025, the Mesa por la Vida y la Salud de las Mujeres documented 1,569 instances of such challenges. Chava, a demonstrator, emphasized the social commitment of motherhood, stating, \"Caring for a human being from such a young age is truly a social commitment.\"\n\nDespite the decriminalization of abortion, women continue to face institutional barriers. Mesa por la Vida has had to intervene in or provide legal guidance for thousands of abortion requests through 2026 due to these impediments. Ibarra highlighted the stigmatization of women who choose abortion and the need to support motherhood without guilt. She also criticized the right-wing's focus on controlling women's bodies.\n\nFollowing a change in government, various social, human rights, and feminist organizations expressed concern over President Abelardo de la Espriella's \"anti-rights\" agenda. The president has publicly denounced abortion as an \"abominable crime.\" The Center for Reproductive Rights declared itself on \"maximum alert\" due to the government's lack of initiatives related to sexual and reproductive health, contraception, safe abortion, prevention of sexual violence, and comprehensive sex education.\n\nIn July, lawmakers from governing parties Salvación Nacional, the Conservative Party, and the Democratic Center introduced a bill in Congress to ban abortion by amending Article 11 of the Constitution. The government has also faced criticism over statements discouraging the use of gender-inclusive language. Activist Ibarra urged continued resistance and collective action for women's rights, stating, \"Motherhood must be a choice.\"",
  "summary": "On the Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion, September 28, a group of activists gathered in Colombia’s second-largest city, Medellín, to support women’s rights. The day of action has been commemorated annually since 1990, following the Fifth Latin American and Caribbean Feminist Encuentro to demand that states decriminalize abortion and […] The post Activists gather in…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}