Guatemala Reverses Same-Sex Marriage Ban & Anti-abortion Law

In an update from our recent article shared on 16 March 2022, The Guatemalan Congress has put on hold a bill that would have banned same-sex marriage and raised prison penalties for women who seek abortions.

Guatemala’s congress passed a “Protection of Life and Family” law with 101 votes in favor and eight votes against it. Women seeking abortions and those who help them would have faced a lengthy sentence under the new law. It would have also outlawed the teaching of sexual diversity in schools and prohibited same-sex marriage. After it was passed by the Congress, Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei had mentioned that he will veto the bill, and called it “unconstitutional”.

The bill’s reversal was largely owing to public outcry and opposition. As reported in the New York Times, Activists and university students protested the law in front of Congress. The law “does not reflect me,” they chanted as they marched across the capital.

Guatemala aún rezagada respecto del resto de países de la región en lo que se refiere al reconocimiento de los derechos de las mujeres, incluyendo el acceso al aborto legal y seguro. @hrw_espanol @ximecasas76 @elpais_america https://t.co/sFljuqSHZa

— Regina Tamés (@reginatames) March 17, 2022

Lawyer and deputy director of the Women’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch, Regina Tamés, in a statement on Twitter said “Guatemala still lags behind the rest of the countries in the region in terms of recognizing women’s rights, including access to legal and safe abortion.”