Abortion in Puerto Rico is technically prohibited on request,[1] although it is de facto allowed without a clear limit.
[2] On June 22, 2022, the Senate passed a bill limiting abortion to 22 weeks, with exceptions for danger to the mother's life, fetal defects, and if the fetus would not be viable.
[4][5] Abortion effectively became legal in 1937 after a series of changes in the law by the Puerto Rico legislature based on introduction of Malthusian clinics introduced from US-initiated eugenic policies.
During the 1960s and early 1970s, women from the mainland of the United States would travel to the island for legal abortions, with the practice largely ending in 1973 as a result of the US Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade.
Women have continued to travel to Puerto Rico from other parts of the Caribbean since the 1990s to obtain abortions illegal in their home countries.
Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017, and had a major impact on the overall public health situation on the island that was still being felt years later.
[7] American colonial powers in Puerto Rico had a major impact on the island's relationship with women's reproductive rights and on abortion laws.
[8] There was no move by the legislature of Puerto Rico to create new abortion legislation prior to the 1973 Roe v. Wade US Supreme Court ruling.
[12][13] Pregnant women in Puerto Rico in 2016 were at risk of getting the Zika virus, which causes major fetal defects.
[10] Abortion effectively became legal in Puerto Rico in 1937 after the territory's legislature repealed existing laws around reproductive care and treatment.
[15] In 1964, there was a legislative effort to try to repeal the 1937 reforms by amending Puerto Rico's penal code, though it was only partially effective in totally criminalizing abortion; one consequence of these efforts though was it resulted in a large drop in the number of abortions performed in Puerto Rico.
The law also required doctors to offer any other exams or tests that may be needed prior to performing the abortion so a woman is fully informed, including a sonogram to determine how far along the pregnancy is.
[17] An evangelical minister Senator named Nayda Venegas put forth a proposed law on March 4, 2019, that would require women under the age of 21 to get parental consent before being allowed to have an abortion.
[18] On May 7, 2018, Puerto Rico legislature proposed a series of abortion restrictions that were signed into law by the territory's governor on March 7, 2019.
"[18][7] PS950 was vetoed on the same day, March 7, 2019, by Governor Ricardo Rosselló, who said the legislation imposed "onerous restrictions" on a woman's ability to access abortion services.
[7] The US Supreme Court's decision in 1973's Roe v. Wade ruling meant the state could no longer regulate abortion in the first trimester.
Duarte appealed the sentence to the Puerto Rico Supreme Court, which overturned the sentence given by the Puerto Rico Superior Court, citing the needs of the doctor to be able to consider a woman's health issues in the first trimester, with the women's health being a primary factor in whether or not an abortion should occur.
[17] out-of-state residents Federal funding through Medicare is available to women in Puerto Rico in cases of rape, incest or risk of health or life to the mother.
[7] Taller Salud's Michel Collado said in 2019, "Over the last few years, we've been struggling with a government that has eliminated access to sex education and gender perspective in public schools; they also cut funding to the NGOs [non-government organizations] that work with those issues.
[16] Due to its vastly devout Catholic population, abortion in Puerto Rico has a significant religion-based opposition from members of the clergy.
An anti-abortion rally was held in 1974 in San Juan following revisions in Puerto Rican law earlier that year.