Abortion Laws in Panama: Exceptions, Penalties, and Objection

Abortion laws in Panama make the procedure a crime in almost every circumstance. The Penal Code allows only two exceptions: a pregnancy resulting from rape, and a pregnancy that seriously threatens the health of the mother or fetus. Everyone involved in an abortion outside those exceptions — the pregnant person, the provider, and anyone assisting — faces prison time.

The Two Legal Exceptions

Article 144 of the Penal Code sets out the only situations in which an abortion will not be prosecuted. Both require the woman’s consent and require that the procedure be carried out by a physician at a government health facility.¹ Meeting the legal requirements is a separate problem from meeting them in time.

Pregnancy Resulting From Rape

An abortion after rape is permitted only within the first two months of pregnancy. Before a judge can authorize the procedure, the rape must be reported and substantiated through a preliminary criminal investigation.¹ That means filing a complaint with the Public Ministry, having the investigation advance far enough to confirm the allegation, and obtaining a court order — all within eight weeks.

Panama’s age of consent is 14. Sexual contact with a child under that age is treated as a criminal offense regardless of the circumstances, so a pregnancy in a girl younger than 14 falls under the rape exception without any need to prove force.

Serious Health Risk (Therapeutic Abortion)

The second exception applies when continuing the pregnancy poses a serious threat to the life of the mother or the fetus. No court order is required. Instead, a multidisciplinary commission appointed by the Minister of Health reviews the case and authorizes the procedure if the health justification meets the legal standard.¹

The Penal Code sets no gestational limit for therapeutic abortion, but Ministry of Health guidelines do. Under the Revised Standards on Women’s Health, the limit is 24 weeks when the ground is fetal impairment.¹ When the mother’s life is at serious risk, no specific week limit is imposed under those guidelines. Convening the commission, obtaining a decision, and scheduling the procedure all take time that a medical emergency may not have.

Conscientious Objection

Article 144 also gives doctors and other health professionals the right to refuse to perform an abortion on moral, religious, or personal grounds, even after a court or the commission has authorized it.² Because the procedure must happen in a government facility, a woman who has cleared every legal hurdle can still be turned away if the assigned physician objects. The law does not appear to require the facility to find a substitute provider.

Penalties by Role

Sentences under Articles 141 through 143 scale according to who acted and what happened:

A woman who ends her own pregnancy or consents to someone else doing so: one to three years in prison under Article 141.²
A provider performing an abortion with the woman’s consent: three to six years under Article 142.¹
A provider acting without the woman’s consent: four to eight years under Article 143.¹
If the woman dies as a result of the procedure or the methods used: five to ten years under Article 143.¹
If the person responsible is the woman’s partner or cohabiting partner: whichever sentence applies is increased by one-sixth.²

Emergency Contraception Is Separate

Emergency contraception is not treated as abortion under Panamanian law. Levonorgestrel-based emergency contraceptive pills are registered and available, classified as prescription medications, though enforcement of the prescription requirement varies and some pharmacies sell them without one.³ Because these pills prevent pregnancy rather than end one, the Penal Code’s abortion provisions do not apply.

1
Global Abortion Policies Database. Country Profile – Panama
2
Ministerio Público. Panamá Code – Código Penal de la República de Panamá
3
Emergency Contraception in the World (ECEC). Emergency Contraception in the World