San Juan, Puerto Rico, Oct 26, 2011 / 16:10 pm
The Puerto Rico Senate passed a new penal code on Oct. 24 that keeps in place the territory's prohibition against abortion.
The code will now be sent to the House of Representatives for debate.
Article 99 of the penal code stipulates that “any woman who procures and consumes any medicine, drug or substance, or who undergoes any operation, surgery or any other procedure for the purpose of causing an abortion, except in order to save her health or her life, shall be punished with a fixed prison sentence of two years.”
Abortion supporters argue the new code would be unconstitutional because it would violate the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade (1973) and the Puerto Rico Supreme Court’s ruling in Pueblo v. Duarte (1980), which legalized abortion.
If passed by the House, the code would be sent to Governor Luis Fortuno to be signed into law.