{{Short description|none}} '''Abortion in Ecuador''' is illegal except when performed in the case of a threat to the life or health of a pregnant woman (when this threat cannot be averted by other means) or when the pregnancy is the result of rape, including but not only a sexual crime against a [[mentally disabled]] woman where her legal representative has consented to the [[abortion]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ecuador: Abortion Law|url=https://www.womenonwaves.org/en/page/4944/ecuador-abortion-law|access-date=2021-11-05|website=Women on Waves|language=en}}</ref> In 2021, the [[Constitutional Court of Ecuador]] ruled for the decriminalization of abortion in all cases of rape.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-04-29|title=Ecuador's top court decriminalises abortion in rape cases|url=https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20210429-ecuador-s-top-court-decriminalises-abortion-in-rape-cases|access-date=2021-11-05|website=France 24|language=en}}</ref>
The Ministry of Public Health provides guidelines on [[therapeutic abortion]].
In 2013 then president [[Rafael Correa]] threatened to resign if the abortion law was liberalized.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2013-10-11|title=Ecuador abortion: President Correa threatens to resign|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-24499248|access-date=2021-11-05}}</ref> As of 2015, nearly 100 criminal cases of [[illegal abortion]] were under investigation.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2015-04-22|title=Ecuador: Adopt UN Recommendations on Abortion Law|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/04/22/ecuador-adopt-un-recommendations-abortion-law|access-date=2021-11-05|website=Human Rights Watch|language=en}}</ref>
In 2015, Ecuador was urged by [[CEDAW]] to decriminalize abortion in cases of rape and incest (under law abortion at the time it was legal only if the woman is mentally disabled) and severe fetal impairment (which is also illegal).<ref name=":0" />
== Public opinion == Opinion polling conducted in Ecuador in May 2021 indicated that 69% of the Ecuadorian public support legal abortion in the case of rape and 76.3% disagree with a woman going to jail if they get an abortion.<ref>{{cite web |date= 2 December 2024 |title= Opinion on the legal status of abortion in Ecuador in 2021 |url= https://www.statista.com/statistics/1292625/ecuador-opinion-decriminalization-abortion/ |website= Statista |access-date= 28 March 2025}}</ref>
==See also== *[[:Category:Abortion by country|Abortion by country]] *[[Abortion law]] *[[Reproductive rights in Latin America]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Cite web|url=https://www.womenonwaves.org/en/page/1898/illegal-abortion-in-ecuador|title=Illegal abortion in Ecuador|website=Women on Waves|access-date=1 May 2023}}
{{Abortion in South America}} {{Abortion}}
[[Category:Abortion in South America|Ecuador]] [[Category:Abortion by country|Ecuador]] [[Category:Law of Ecuador]] [[Category:Health in Ecuador]] [[Category:Sexuality in Ecuador]] [[Category:Women's rights in Ecuador]]