Reproductive Justice in Honduras

Good news from a country that rarely sees it:

President Xiomara Castro of Honduras signed an executive order on Wednesday that lifted a longtime ban on emergency contraceptive pills, delivering on a campaign promise for a policy change that was sought by feminist groups for years.

Ms. Castro, who signed the order on International Women’s Day, said on Twitter that the emergency contraceptive pill was “part of women’s reproductive rights, and not abortive,” citing the World Health Organization.

The order was celebrated by human rights and feminist organizations, and it was a major victory for Ms. Castro, who was elected the first female president of Honduras in 2021 and campaigned on overturning the ban on emergency contraceptive pills, among other issues.

But, in a country that is heavily Catholic, Ms. Castro’s order still found resistance.

Mirtha Gutiérrez, Honduras’s human rights secretary, said that the president’s order was a “great step” and that the Honduran government would continue to do more for women.

“We believe as a government that it is important to continue advancing in the rights of women,” Ms. Gutiérrez said. “This is the beginning of a long joint effort with the women of Honduras.”

Honduras was previously the only nation in the world known to have a blanket legal ban on emergency contraception pills, according to the International Consortium for Emergency Contraception, a policy research group. The ban was enacted in 2009. Honduras is still among a few Latin American countries that prohibit abortion under any circumstances.

Glad to see that half of American states are now to the right of Honduras on reproductive justice.