In Bolivia, the Legal Termination of Pregnancy (ILE) is a fact since 2017, when the Penal Code was reformed and grounds for non-punishable abortions were incorporated: in case the pregnancy is the result of rape, statutory rape or incest, or if it involves risk to the life of the pregnant person.

In the last few days, the case of an 11-year-old Bolivian girl who decided to have an abortion, which was the result of sexual violence by her step-grandmother for several months, came to light. However, the Catholic Church blocked access to the abortion, convincing the girl and her mother to continue with the pregnancy. The girl, who is 21 weeks pregnant, had taken the first medical abortion pill, but did not continue with the procedure. The incident took place in the municipality of Yapacaní, in the department of Santa Cruz.

The Bolivian Bishops' Conference (CEB) had stated that "no one can be forced to have an abortion, not even in the face of serious sexual violence, because abortion in Bolivia is a crime". The United Nations, for its part, confirmed that subjecting a girl to a forced pregnancy is "qualified as torture", and urged "the authorities to intensify efforts to protect the rights of girls who are victims of sexual violence and forced pregnancies".

According to the CEB, "both lives deserve and must be protected", since "abortion is still a crime in Bolivia and there is no legal interruption of pregnancy. Caring for and protecting life is everyone's obligation". This argument was refuted by the Ombudsman's Office, which confirmed that the modification of the Penal Code "marks an important milestone in the exercise of the rights of women, girls and adolescents, establishing grounds for the termination of a pregnancy, among them rape, incest, statutory rape or the existence of a health risk".

"There is something that the Catholic Church is also not measuring: the postpartum crisis in women in general exists and affects women emotionally and psychologically, but in an 11-year-old girl it is much worse," local ombudsman Nadia Cruz told The Associated Press.

Last Friday, feminist activists mobilised at the gates of the CEB to reject the interference of the church in women's bodies, using the classic green scarves, symbol of the movements in favour of the legalisation of abortion throughout the continent and the world.

Faced with these actions, the CEB announced that it will take legal action, based on an alleged "affectation of religious freedom". "This goes far beyond the exercise of freedom of expression, it goes far beyond the exercise of freedom of assembly, which is guaranteed in the Constitution itself, because it also has to be said: there is an affectation of what religious freedom means, which is guaranteed as a right," said Carlos Busch, a member of the Commission's legal team.

In a statement, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) pointed out that "Bolivia has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the region, which, according to the United Nations Population Fund, is 88 per 100 inhabitants between 15 and 19 years of age, while the regional average is 70", and that "according to figures from the Ministry of Health, between January and July 2021, 22,221 teenage pregnancies were registered, with a projected increase for the second half of the year".

Furthermore, in the Andean country "one out of every three girls suffers some form of sexual violence before the age of 18; and according to data from the Prosecutor's Office specialising in gender and juvenile crimes, 561 cases of rape against children and adolescents were reported up to April 2021".

For this reason, they urged "the State of Bolivia to do its utmost to eradicate violence against women, girls and adolescents, strengthening the bodies of the route of timely and adequate care and guaranteeing timely and adequate access to health services and information, in compliance with its internal regulations and international treaties".

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