Article 172 Quater of the Criminal Code as an Instrument of an Abortion Policy

Abstract

The new crime of anti-abortion harassment (art. 172, quater CP) reinforces the configuration of abortion as a fundamental right of
women. The Constitutional Court has declared the constitutionality of the provision, a decision that has raised various criticisms among the judges themselves and among various authors, related to the violation of the principle of taxativity and the impact on other fundamental rights such as freedom of expression and the right of assembly. This paper endorses some of these criticisms, both from dogmatic and criminal political perspectives. Fundamentally, it negatively assesses the neglect of the protection of unborn
life because of policies recognizing the right to abortion.