The ruling, which has long been the subject of debate in this Roman Catholic country, was voted by a majority of 5-3, thus bringing Colombia into line with most of its Latin America neighbours.
Prior to the court announcing the ruling; the anti-abortion groups, carried out demonstrations calling abortion - a "moral problem" and not an issue of public health.
The BBC reports that after the ruling to partially legalize abortion, El Salvador and Chile remain the only Latin American countries where abortion is banned under any circumstances.
Lawyer and pro-choice campaigner Monica Roa was quoted by the Associated Press news agency as telling Caracol radio, "The court fulfilled its duty in recognising the right of Colombian women."
About 400,000 surreptitious abortions are estimated to be carried out in Colombia each year.
