On March 24, the plenary session of the Congress of Deputies of the Dominican Republic rejected the inclusion of three grounds for the decriminalization of abortion in the Penal Code. The pro-life victory was devastating by 115 of the 190 votes.

The decision comes against the will of the president, Luis Abinader, of the progressive Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM), who in the campaign had been in favor of decriminalizing abortion in three cases: when the life or health of the woman is in danger, when the baby’s condition is incompatible with extrauterine life and when the pregnancy is the product of rape.

Abinader had appointed a commission of experts to rule on the matter and resolved that the Penal Code should include such grounds, but the Justice Commission rejected the proposal by 10 votes to 5 in favor.

Later, the opinion was widely supported by government supporters and by the opposition. The ruling party alone has 90 legislators in the Lower House out of the total 190, and a significant part of their legislators were in favor of life. The president chose to accept the will of Congress and announced that he would not veto the result.

Now the reform of the Penal Code will have to be analyzed, debated and voted in the Senate, but without the matter of abortion. If the senators decide to include it, the bill will go back to the deputies. This is not likely to happen.

The firm position of the legislators, who from the first day of discussion marked their position by tying blue scarves (as can be seen in the photo that opens the text), surprised even pro-life organizations, especially in view of the strong pressure they have exerted on that country the United Nations (UN) through the High Commissioner for Human Rights.