Image copyright AFP Image caption The "Abortion Ship" is at Marina Pez Vela on Guatemala's Pacific coast

The Guatemalan army says it will block the activities of a non-profit "abortion boat" docked on its shores.

The Dutch non-profit group, Women on Waves, offers free abortion services to women in countries where the procedure is banned.

It takes women in the early stages of pregnancy out to international waters, where the abortion is performed.

Abortion is banned in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation, except to save the mother's life.

The Army said it had been instructed by President Jimmy Morales to act, and would defend "human life and the laws of our country" by preventing the group from carrying out abortions.

Officials are preventing activists from disembarking from the ship, and women will not be allowed to board the boat, reports say.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Women on Waves founder Rebecca Gomperts (right) was criticised by Guatemala's Catholic Church

The Women on Waves' boat docked on the Pacific Ocean port of Quetzal, in the city of San Jose, on Wednesday.

The group says it has a legal permit to sail in Guatemalan waters and the boat is being illegally "detained" by the authorities.

It had planned to stay in the country for five days.

Image copyright AFP Image caption The Guatemalan Army patrolled waters near the Dutch boat

The group says more than 60,000 illegal abortions are performed in Guatemala every year, and most of the women who put their lives at risk at the hands of untrained professionals are poor.

"We respect religious beliefs but this [abortion] is a fundamental right in a democracy," spokeswoman Leticia Zevich told La Hora Newspaper.

However, Guatemala's Catholic Church, other religious leaders and politicians protested against the presence of the boat.

"The boat of death has arrived in Guatemala," said lawmaker Raul Romero during a Congress session earlier on Wednesday.

In most Latin American countries, abortion is either illegal or only allowed to save the life of the woman.</s>Guatemalan authorities on Friday (24 February) expelled a Dutch boat run by Women on Waves, a non-profit organisation (NGO) that provides free abortion services to women living in countries where the procedure is banned.

The boat was detained on Thursday, a day after it landed at a private pier in the Port of San Jose at Marina Pez Vela, about 120km south of the capital Guatemala City.

The country's immigration office confirmed the expulsion in a statement on Friday. It was also expelling the crew of the ship run by Women on Waves, the statement added. The country's law allows the government to expel foreigners if they pose a threat to national interests, national security or public safety. According to Guatemalan laws, terminating a pregnancy is only allowed if the mother's life is at risk.

However, Women on Waves has said it is appealing against the immigration office's decision in court. The NGO insisted that its crew cannot be expelled before the court has taken a decision about the legality of this notification.

"The crew has not committed any illegal acts," the charity said in a statement. Following the ship's detainment, the NGO had said that the act was a violation of its rights as it carried all the necessary licences "to enter, stay and sail in Guatemala".

It accused the country of violating its right to freedom of assembly and organisation, the right to freedom of movement, the right to have legal representation, the right to proper judicial procedures, and the right to be innocent until proven guilty.

Earlier, the NGO had said that an estimated 65,000 illegal and unsafe abortions take place in Guatemala each year because of its restrictive law and approximately 21,600 women are taken to hospital with complications.

The group also said that unsafe abortions account for the third major cause of maternal death in the country, according to data from Guttmacher insitute. "Especially at the dawn of the Zika crisis, access to safe abortion is fundamentally an issue of social justice," the NGO said.</s>Guatemala's navy on Thursday dispatched a vessel to watch over a Dutch "abortion ship" carrying activists vowing to help women circumvent the country's longstanding prohibition on terminating pregnancies.

"The military will not permit this group to carry out its activities in the country," the military said in a formal complaint to the prosecutor's office issued on instructions from President Jimmy Morales.

The group, Women on Waves, said in a statement that their sailing ship was being "detained" illegally by the military, which it accused of "obstructing a lawful protest against the state's restrictions on the Guatemalan women's right to safe abortion."

The arrival of the Dutch-registered ship in the port of San Jose, south of the Guatemalan capital, prompted fierce protests by Christian groups.

They disrupted a news conference by the activists, who counted 10 people from Brazil, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Guatemala.

"They say they are fighting for life and human rights, but it looks like murder has become a human right," said a protesting seminary student from Cuba, Gil Hernandez.

Port officials have ordered the activists to stay on board their ship, saying they had not declared the motive of their trip and therefore could not go ashore.

The group has pledged to offer abortions in international waters just off Guatemala's coast over the next five days.

Abortion is allowed in Guatemala only in cases where the mother's life is in danger.

According to Women on Waves, some 65,000 illegal and unsafe abortions take place in the Central American country every year.

Set up in 1999, Women on Waves has generated controversy with its abortion ships in the past.

Its founder Rebecca Gomberts confirmed to AFP that the Guatemala trip was the first since a 2012 campaign in Morocco, when the Moroccan navy blocked a harbor to prevent the group's ship from docking.

For its mission to Central America, the organization said in a statement: "The ship can provide women with free legal medical abortions till 10 weeks of pregnancy after sailing to international waters, 12 miles outside Guatemala."

Gomberts said the plan was to pick up five women at a time by dinghy and take them to the ship waiting outside Guatemalan waters.

Abortions would be induced with two pills. Counseling, treatment and after-care would also be available for women seeking the group's services.

An Austrian doctor on board, Christian Fiala, said the abortion-by-pills was 99 percent safe and approved by the World Health Organization.

In past years, a Women on Waves ship has also visited Ireland, Poland, Portugal and Spain, prompting protests by pro-life groups in each country.

Women on Waves argued on Thursday that "especially at the dawn of the Zika crisis, access to safe abortion is fundamentally an issue of social justice."

The group urged the Guatemalan government to "remove abortion from the penal code," saying it is "a regular medical procedure and a human right" and calling for access to contraceptives and free, safe abortions.</s>Guatemala's army on Thursday detained a Dutch boat that intended to help women in the Central American country gain acess to abortions.

Women on Waves, a non-profit, offers a way for woman living in countries where the procedure is illegal to get an abortion. Reuters reported the group takes woman up to 10-weeks pregnant into international waters for a free abortion.

The boat was in custody by the military after docking at the Port of San Jose, a spokeswoman told Reuters. Some members were on board.

The Guatemalan army said in a statement that the group would not be allowed to let women board and it will defend “the preservation of human life and the laws in effect in our country."

Abortions in Guatemala are only allowed when the life of the mother is at risk.

"Guatemala has been chosen because the laws are very restrictive on the subject of abortion," the director of Women in Equity in Guatemala told Reuters.

Nearly 65,000 abortions illegally occur each year in the country, according to Reuters.

The World Health Organization reports that between the years 2010 and 2014 nearly 56 million safe and unsafe abortions occurred worldwide on average each year.

Alyssa Madruga is a news editor for FoxNews.com. Follow her on Twitter @AlyssaMadruga.</s>PORT OF SAN JOSE, Guatemala: Guatemala's army detained a boat carrying a supply of abortion pills on Thursday and prevented it from picking up women seeking to end their pregnancies, saying the move was prohibited by the country's constitution.

The boat, operated by Dutch nonprofit Women on Waves, was in military custody with some of its seven crew members still aboard, after landing at a private pier at the Port of San Jose, 75 miles (120 km) south of the capital, said Leticia Zenevich, a spokeswoman for the group.

The organisation provides free abortion services for women pregnant up to 10 weeks, beyond the territorial waters of countries where abortion is illegal.

The abortion pill - also known as a medication abortion — combines two medicines, mifepristone and misoprostol, to end a pregnancy. It is more than 90 percent effective for women up to 10 weeks pregnant.

In a statement, the Guatemalan army said that it would not allow the nonprofit to carry out its activities, in adherence "to the Constitution regarding the preservation of human life and the laws in effect in our country."

The trip was the first made by the organisation since Morocco blocked a ship from entering one of its harbours in 2012, Zenevich said.

Marleny Arias, a 50-year-old Guatemalan, heckled the ship's crew, yelling: "Why don't you go to the Netherlands to kill children?"

Group organizers defended the legality of the ship's operation, which picks up women on shore and brings them to international waters where local laws do not apply.

On board, women are given an abortion pill and remain under observation for a few hours before returning to land.

"Guatemala has been chosen because the laws are very restrictive on the subject of abortion," said Quetzali Cerezo, director of Women in Equity in Guatemala, which helps the Dutch nonprofit.

In Guatemala, where Catholic and Evangelical churches hold powerful influence, abortions are only permitted if a mother's life is at risk.

According to the organisation, which was founded in 1999, some 65,000 illegal abortions are performed annually in the Latin American country.</s>GUATEMALA CITY (AP) - Guatemala's military said Thursday it will not allow a Dutch nonprofit organization that performs free abortions aboard a ship in international waters to pick up women in port for the procedure.

Abortion is illegal in Guatemala. In a statement, the military said it was under instructions from President Jimmy Morales to not allow the activity.

The nonprofit, Women on Waves, travels the globe offering abortion services to women in countries where the procedure is illegal. Spokeswoman Leticia Zenevich said they selected Guatemala as the first country they visited in Latin America because of the strength of its women's organizations.

The boat arrived in the Pacific port of Quetzal on Wednesday and planned to stay five days, Zenevich said. She said officials from the prosecutor's office for human rights were inspecting the boat.

In a later statement Thursday, the group said they had all necessary permits to enter Guatemala and the government had no legal grounds to block their work.</s>The army of Guatemala on Thursday (23 February) reportedly detained a boat of the Dutch non-profit Women on Waves that was carrying abortion pills and stopped it from picking up women who wanted to get an abortion.

The boat was in the custody of the military with some of its crew still on board, after it landed on Wednesday at a private pier in the Port of San Jose about 120km south of the capital Guatemala City, a spokesperson for the group, Leticia Zenevich, said.

The army said that abortion was prohibited under the Guatemalan constitution. It said it was asked by President Jimmy Morales to act to defend "human life and the laws of our country".

The non-profit group provides free abortion services to women who are up to 10 weeks pregnant in countries where ending a pregnancy is banned.

Women are given an abortion pill and are kept under observation for a few hours after taking the pill.

The group's organisers defended the legality of the ship's operation as it took women into international waters to perform the procedure where local laws don't apply. They said they had a legal permit to sail on Guatemalan waters and that they had planned on staying for five days.

Quetzali Cerezo, director of Women in Equity in Guatemala, which helps the Dutch non-profit said: "Guatemala has been chosen because the laws are very restrictive on the subject of abortion."

In the Roman Catholic country of Guatemala, abortions are allowed only if the mother's life is at risk.

"We respect religious beliefs but this [abortion] is a fundamental right in a democracy," Zevich said.

A lawmaker Raul Romero said at a congress session on Wednesday, "The boat of death has arrived in Guatemala."

According to the group, at least 60,000 illegal abortions take place every year in the Latin American country and the woman who put their lives at risk come from poor backgrounds.</s>Guatemala's immigration office on Friday ordered the expulsion of a ship run by a Dutch nonprofit organization that performs free abortions onboard in international waters.

The office said in a statement that it was also expelling the crew of the ship operated by Women on Waves, which travels the globe offering abortion services to women in countries where the procedure is illegal.

Guatemalan law prohibits abortion and allows the government to expel foreigners based on perceived risks to national interests, national security or public safety.

Earlier, the Guatemalan military had prevented the group from picking up women for the procedure in the Pacific port of Quetzal, where the ship is located. The military said it was under instructions from President Jimmy Morales to not allow the activity.

Earlier, Women on Waves spokeswoman Leticia Zenevich said they selected Guatemala as the first country they visited in Latin America because of the strength of its women's organizations. In a blog post, the group said it was appealing the expulsion order and had not committed any illegal act.</s>Guatemala's immigration office says it has ordered the expulsion of a ship run by a Dutch nonprofit organization that performs free abortions onboard in international waters.

The office said Friday it was also expelling the crew. The ship is operated by the nonprofit group Women on Waves.

Guatemalan law prohibits abortion and allows the government to expel foreigners based on perceived risks to national interests, national security or public safety.

Earlier, the Guatemalan military had prevented the group from picking up women for the procedure in the Pacific port of Quetzal, where the ship is located. The military said it was under instructions from President Jimmy Morales to not allow the activity.

The group travels the globe offering abortion services to women in countries where the procedure is illegal.</s>The Guatemalan authorities say they are expelling members of a non-profit "abortion boat" docked on its shores.

Officials said they had lied when they applied for tourist visas and would not be allowed to work in Guatemala.

The Dutch group, Women on Waves, offers free abortion services to women in countries where the procedure is banned.

It takes women in the early stages of pregnancy out to international waters, where the abortion is performed.

Abortion is only allowed in Guatemala when the mother's life is at risk.

A spokeswoman for Women on Waves confirmed that they had been told to leave the country immediately, but she said its lawyers had appealed against the decision.

La Prensa Libre newspaper said the four crew members being expelled were US citizens.

It is not clear if other members of the group have also been ordered to leave the country.

The Army said on Thursday it had been instructed by President Jimmy Morales to act, and would defend "human life and the laws of our country" by preventing the group from carrying out abortions.

The Women on Waves' boat docked on the Pacific Ocean port of Quetzal, in the city of San Jose, on Wednesday.

The group says it had a legal permit to sail in Guatemalan waters and the boat was being illegally "detained" by the authorities.

The group says more than 60,000 illegal abortions are performed in Guatemala every year, and most of the women who put their lives at risk at the hands of untrained professionals are poor.

"We respect religious beliefs but this [abortion] is a fundamental right in a democracy," spokeswoman Leticia Zevich told La Hora Newspaper.

However, Guatemala's Catholic Church, other religious leaders and politicians protested against the presence of the boat.

In most Latin American countries, abortion is either illegal or only allowed to save the life of the woman.
The Guatemalan army blockades a ship from the Dutch NGO Women on Waves that provides material for abortions.