Challenge to Abortion Law in Nicaragua / Amici (Supreme Court of Nicaragua)

In May 2007, The Center for Reproductive Rights and Yale University’s Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic submitted a joint friend-of-the-court brief to the Supreme Court of Nicaragua.

Country/Region: , Nicaragua/LAC

Center Attorney(s): , Lilian Sepúlveda and Alejandra Cardenas

Partners: Ipas Central America and the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH)

Summary: , Filed in support of local groups challenging the country’s complete ban on abortion, the Center’s brief provides a comparative legal perspective. Effective July 2008, Nicaragua’s Penal Code criminalizes abortion on all grounds, eliminating the only exception under the previous law for women whose lives were at risk. In July 2008, our partner CENIDH in Nicaragua, with the Center’s assistance, filed a brief with the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the abortion ban. The Center awaits the decision by the Supreme Court, and will continue its efforts to reverse this dangerous law.