Ecuador’s high court has decriminalised abortion in cases of rape, a major step in the traditionally Catholic country. The Constitutional Court voted 7-2 in favour of declaring two articles of the penal code unconstitutional. The decision came in response to a petition from women’s rights groups, and paves the way for parts of the legislation to be changed. Abortion remains a deeply divisive issue in Latin America, where countries have strict laws banning terminations. The only places where abortions are currently legal in the region are Argentina, Uruguay, Cuba, Guyana and parts of Mexico. But terminations are allowed in cases of rape in several countries, including Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Panama, according to the advocacy group Center for Reproductive Rights.Ecuador’s current legislation allows abortion only when the mother’s life is in danger or after the rape of a woman with a mental disability. With the court ruling, abortion in all cases of pregnancy resulted from rape has been decriminalised.(BBC)…[+]