NICARAGUAN President Enrique Bolanos has signed a Bill banning abortion in all cases despite opposition from doctors, women's rights groups and diplomats.
Presidential spokesman Lindolfo Mojarretz told Associated Press that Bolanos signed the Bill on Friday and that it will become law when it appears in the official register.
Previously, Nicaragua allowed abortions if three doctors certified that the woman's health was at risk. The law signed yesterday eliminated that century-old exception.
The six-year prison term for carrying out illegal abortions remains unchanged under the new law. There had been doubt about whether Bolanos would sign the law because he had sought stiffer sentences of up to 30 years for women who had abortions and for those who aided them.
Chile and El Salvador have similarly strict abortion laws.
Most countries in Catholic Latin America permit the procedure if the woman's life is in danger, but ban it in cases resulting from rape or incest.
Cuba permits abortions within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and Colombia recently authorised them in the case of a severely malformed fetus, if rape or incest were involved, or if the woman's life was in danger.
Nicaragua's National Assembly passed the Bill on October 26 despite a letter from European Union diplomats and UN representatives asking them to wait until after the November 5 presidential election.
Nicaragua's medical association also asked for a delay, saying the issue had become politicised.
President-elect Daniel Ortega, who once favoured abortion rights, changed his stance and supported the law after strongly embracing Roman Catholicism and winning over voters in a country with a conservative religious tradition. - AP