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# Abortion care in Colombia from the nursing side: rights and routes, care during and after, and post-abortion contraception

- Safe practice

In Colombia, abortion care (IVE) is urgent care: the nurse informs, protects privacy, watches recovery, teaches warning signs and offers contraception.

Updated Nov 13, 2026

## Key points

- Up to week 24: the woman's decision is enough. After week 24: one of the three C-355 cases (risk to life or health, a fetus that will probably not live, or sexual violence, insemination or egg transfer without consent, or incest).
- Immediate care; only by exception, up to 5 calendar days from the woman's request.
- Forbidden barriers: medical or ethics boards, forensic reports, court orders, family authorisation or compulsory counselling.
- Conscientious objection belongs only to the professional who performs the procedure; staff who prepare, care for or follow up the woman may not refuse or delay care.
- Warning signs after: fever, severe abdominal pain, or bleeding of more than two soaked pads an hour for more than two hours in a row.

## What it is

Voluntary termination of pregnancy (IVE) is a fundamental right in Colombia. Since Sentencia C-055 de 2022, abortion is a crime only after week 24 of gestation; after that limit it stays legal in the three cases of Sentencia C-355 de 2006. Resolución 051 de 2023 regulates the care: it is essential and urgent, provided at once on the woman's request, and only by exception within 5 calendar days. Nursing takes part in the first visit, information, counselling, recovery care and contraception. This page covers that care; the ethics pages cover the rulings and conscientious objection.

## What it requires

- Res. 051 de 2023 adopts the single regulation for IVE care and modifies section 4.2 of Res. 3280 de 2018.
- Information must be objective and complete: continuing the pregnancy, adoption or termination; no dissuasive, personal or religious views.
- Under-18s decide on their own; no third-party authorisation is needed.
- Strict confidentiality: a partner or relative attends only if the woman asks.
- IVE care is free of co-payments and moderating fees (Decreto 1652 de 2022, cited by Res. 051).

## Components

- First visit: the woman's will, health status, gestational age, an intrauterine pregnancy, signs of coercion or violence.
- Information, guidance and counselling when she wants it (never compulsory).
- The procedure, with medicines or by aspiration, chosen with the woman by gestational age.
- Recovery, contraception counselling and provision, and a control visit when needed.

## How it is applied (and why)

- Receive the request without judgement and record it in the clinical record — the request starts the timeline set by Res. 051.
- Protect privacy: a private room and no third parties unless she asks — privacy is a protection standard of the regulation.
- Ask the last period date and look for signs of ectopic pregnancy (pain, bleeding, dizziness, fainting, pallor) — it needs urgent referral.
- Talk with her alone if you suspect pressure from a partner or relative — the decision must be free of coercion.
- Give clear information on options, what she will feel and how long it takes, and check understanding — informed consent needs real understanding.
- Offer HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B and C testing as voluntary — the tests never delay the procedure.
- In recovery, watch pain and bleeding; pain greater than expected may mean perforation or blood in the uterus — report it at once.
- Check the blood group: Rh-negative women at 12 weeks or more receive anti-D immunoglobulin per protocol — it prevents sensitisation.
- Teach expected symptoms and warning signs; ovulation may return as early as 8 days — she needs to know when to come back and why to start a method.
- Offer contraception counselling and the chosen method before discharge — starting a long-acting method at once improves continuation.

## In nursing practice

- Expected recovery: occasional cramping in the first week that eases with common analgesics, and period-like bleeding for about 10 days, up to 4 weeks.
- Complications of unsafe abortion (WHO): haemorrhage, infection, incomplete abortion and uterine perforation.
- A woman who self-managed an abortion receives the care to complete it safely, with professional secrecy and no report to the police.
- If the pregnancy came from sexual violence, the sexual violence protocol also applies (urgent care, evidence, protection and justice routes), but a criminal complaint is never a requirement.
- IUD after abortion: once success is confirmed, except after a septic abortion. Implant: may be placed the day the abortion medicine is given.

## Common mistakes

- Asking for a court order, a board's approval or a relative's signature.
- Sending her to a compulsory counselling or psychology visit before the procedure.
- Letting a partner or parent into the visit without her explicit request.
- A nurse who prepares or cares for the woman refusing or delaying care on grounds of conscience.
- Discharge without warning signs or a contraception offer.

## Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

## After C-055 de 2022, when is abortion a crime in Colombia?

Only after week 24 of gestation; after that limit it stays legal in the three cases of Sentencia C-355 de 2006.

## Within what time must IVE care be provided under Res. 051 de 2023?

Immediately. Only in exceptional, justified cases, within a maximum of 5 calendar days from the woman's request.

## May a nurse who prepares the woman for the procedure object on grounds of conscience?

No. Only the professional who performs the procedure may object, in writing and with referral; care, preparatory and follow-up staff may not refuse or delay it.

## Which bleeding after an abortion is a warning sign?

More than two soaked sanitary pads an hour for more than two hours in a row; also fever or severe abdominal pain.

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## Elsewhere in DurgiPedia

- [Sentencia C-355 de 2006: the three grounds for abortion](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/sentencia-c-355-de-2006-the-three-grounds-for-abortion/)
- [Sentencia C-055 de 2022: abortion up to week 24](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/sentencia-c-055-de-2022-abortion-up-to-week-24/)
- [Conscientious objection in health care](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/conscientious-objection-in-health-care/)

## Connections

## Related 2

- [Contraception counselling: the methods, eligibility in general terms, LARC and after birth or abortion](https://durgical.com/en/nursing/contraception-counselling-the-methods-eligibility-in-general-terms-larc-and-afte/)
- [Bleeding in pregnancy: early (miscarriage, ectopic, molar) and late (previa, abruption) from the nursing side](https://durgical.com/en/nursing/bleeding-in-pregnancy-early-and-late-from-the-nursing-side/)

## Related conditions 2

- [Miscarriage (early pregnancy loss)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/miscarriage/)
- [Septic and unsafe abortion](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/septic-and-unsafe-abortion/)

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Educational content for students; it does not replace your institution's protocols, supervised clinical training or a prescriber's order. Dose-calculation examples use made-up numbers: they are educational, not a clinical order.

Sources: [Resolución 51 de 2023: regulación única para la atención integral en salud frente a la IVE (compiled text)](https://normograma.supersalud.gov.co/compilacion/docs/resolucion_minsaludps_0051_2023.htm) (Superintendencia Nacional de Salud, Compilación Jurídica, 2023); [Sentencia C-055 de 2022](https://www.corteconstitucional.gov.co/relatoria/2022/C-055-22.htm) (Corte Constitucional de Colombia, 2022); [Sentencia C-355 de 2006](https://www.corteconstitucional.gov.co/relatoria/2006/C-355-06.htm) (Corte Constitucional de Colombia, 2006); [Abortion (fact sheet)](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/abortion) (World Health Organization, 2025).

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Source: https://durgical.com/en/nursing/abortion-care-in-colombia-from-the-nursing-side-rights-and-routes-care-during-an/
License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/nursing/abortion-care-in-colombia-from-the-nursing-side-rights-and-routes-care-during-an/