On July 31, 2025, the Dominican Republic’s Chamber of Deputies voted overwhelmingly— 159 to 4 — in favor of a sweeping new Penal Code. The following day, the Senate gave its near-unanimous approval. President Luis Abinader signed the reform into law on August 3, with implementation set for August 2026.
As reported by The Catholic Herald, the new code introduces provisions to address crimes such as femicide, cybercrime, and economic violence. Yet one clause remained untouched: the nation’s absolute ban on abortion.
The Dominican Constitution, in Article 37, states that “the right to life is inviolable from conception until death.”
This unyielding protection of unborn life has long defined the country’s legal framework.
“This fight [for the unborn] has lasted decades,” explained attorney Loren Montalvo of Alliance Defending Freedom in Santo Domingo, quoted by Zenit News and cited in The Catholic Herald. “They tried through the Health Code, then through the Penal Code. But every attempt ran into Article 37 of our Constitution.”
Despite pressure
The Dominican position stands in sharp contrast to trends in other parts of Latin America, where several nations have liberalized abortion laws. International pressure on Santo Domingo has been intense. More than 20 organizations, including the Latin American Consortium Against Unsafe Abortion (CLACAI) and the International Planned Parenthood Federation, urged legislators to weaken protections. Even the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights weighed in, condemning the ban.
Nevertheless, as The Catholic Herald notes, public opinion in the Dominican Republic has remained consistently resistant. The cultural and legal conviction that life is “non-negotiable” continues to hold sway, shaped by both Catholic heritage and civic values.
Carlos Polo, director of the Latin American office of the Population Research Institute, compared the struggle to a biblical contest: “All these groups — local, regional, and international — coordinate to push abortion in Latin America,” he told Zenit News. “In the Dominican Republic, they saw the Penal Code reform as their moment. They failed, but they will try again.”
The reform replaces a penal code first enacted in 1884. At the same time, the nation’s 1954 Concordat with the Holy See remains in force, recognizing Catholicism as the state religion. Around 60% of Dominicans identify as Catholic, and legislators framed the decision as both a constitutional duty and a reflection of national identity.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms this principle unequivocally: “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception” (CCC 2270). In upholding Article 37, Dominican lawmakers have chosen to enshrine this conviction at the heart of their legal system.
