BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - The debate over abortion in heavily Roman Catholic Colombia raged Thursday following a court ruling that allows for the procedure in certain cases. One Cardinal threatened to excommunicate women who undergo abortions.

The landmark 5-3 ruling Wednesday overturned a complete ban on abortion that punished women who have the procedure with up to four years in jail. Chile and El Salvador are the only other countries in Latin America to maintain a total ban.

Abortion now threatens to become a political issue as this largely traditional Latin American country prepares to vote for its next president May 28.

"We are convinced that the court made a mistake," Bishop Hector Gutierrez told The Associated Press, explaining the position of the Catholic Church. "What it did was legalize a crime."

Cardinal Pedro Rubiano warned that "those who commit the crime, the sin of abortion, will be excommunicated immediately."

Pro-choice activists, however, said the ruling was a victory for reproductive rights. It allows abortions in cases of incest or rape, if the woman's life is endangered or if the fetus is so deformed that it would be unable to live outside the mother's womb.

"We are happy," said Monica Roa, a women's rights activist who argued in the court for a broad legalization of abortion. She said she was "celebrating together with women and feminists, doctors, academics and the people who have worked for years on the lawsuit so we would be successful before the court and win over public opinion."

Carlos Gaviria, the candidate for the left-wing Alternative Democratic Pole, praised the ruling. President Alvaro Uribe, who is favored in his bid for re-election did not immediately comment on the decision but has opposed abortion in the past.

The president of Colombia's medical ethics tribunal, Juan Mendoza, said doctors could refuse to perform abortions "on the grounds of personal beliefs."

Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.