This country just overturned a 13-year ban on the morning-after pill

The morning-after pill wasn't legal in Honduras for 13 years, but President Xiomara Castro has overturned the much-criticised ban on the emergency contraceptive pill in a historic decision. She is the first-ever woman to lead the country and made the change by executive order on International Women's Day.

"Today 8 March commemorates women's historic struggle," President Castro tweeted. "I am signing the Executive Order for the universal use of the morning-after pill."

Castro added, "The World Health Organization (WHO) determined that it is part of the reproductive rights of women and is not abortive."

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After assuming office in 2022, Castro had promised to relax Honduras's restrictive reproductive rights laws.

The morning-after pill was banned in Honduras in 2009 following a coup. The country is largely Catholic and a ban was placed on the emergency pill following the ouster of Xiomara Castro's husband, then-President Manuel Zelaya.

However, in December last year, feminist groups in the country campaigned to get the pill approved, following which it was exclusively cleared for rape victims.

In July 2022, Honduran health secretary Jose Manuel Matheu had told BBC that the country will never change its stance on the issue.

"We are not going to promote the morning-after pill as contraception," he had said, adding that doing so would lead to "sexual debauchery". The term used by him "desenfreno sexual" (sexual debauchery), went viral, with people slamming him for using such a word.

Abortion is currently illegal in Honduras for everyone and is punishable by up to six years in prison. It is not allowed even in cases of rape or incest. As per a UN estimate, 51,000 and 82,000 unsafe abortions are performed in Honduras each year.

(With inputs from agencies)

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