SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - A Dominican court has blocked a new law that would have decriminalized abortions for the first time if the mother's life was at risk.
The law was scheduled to go into effect on Dec. 27.
The constitutional Tribunal reviewed the law after a religious foundation filed a complaint. The ruling issued late Wednesday cannot be appealed and upholds a law from 1884.
Critics of the ruling say it will put the health of women at risk. Human rights groups estimate that nearly 85,000 clandestine abortions are performed every year in the Dominican Republic, with some 15,000 women being hospitalized in serious condition as a result.
Abortions in cases of rape, incest or fetus malformation remain illegal.
