TIME00032

Colombia: Sentence C-133/94 stating that “for the defense of life, which begins at conception, the state is obligated to establish an effective system of legal protection; and given the fundamental nature of the right to life, the implementation of this system must include the adoption of criminal laws within the scope of legislators’ discretion and within the limits of the constitutional order.” This ruling declared constitutional the rule punishing abortion with one to three years of imprisonment.