The region’s strong Catholic traditions have led to some of the world’s most restrictive laws, but movements demanding greater reproductive rights and more protection for women have spread from country to country, building upon each other. If the court had legalized abortion, it would have made Colombia the largest and most influential country in Latin America to permit the practice.

The case before the court had been brought by Natalia Bernal, a Colombian law professor who lives in France and who argued that abortion amounts to a form of torture and violates the rights of women and unborn children.

But instead, Judge Linares, based on his proposed ruling that was widely reported in the Colombian press, wanted to use the case as an opportunity to push for legalizing the procedure for any woman during the first 16 weeks of pregnancy.

In the end, a majority of the court said it could not rule on the case before it, calling Ms. Bernal’s petition one of “substantial ineptitude” and saying she had “not presented sufficient arguments” to merit reconsidering the court’s past decisions.

Three judges, including Judge Linares, voted against the decision not to rule, and wrote dissenting opinions in favor of legalizing abortion.

The court’s action leaves the door open for judges to consider legalization — or a complete ban — in the future. And activists on both sides said they would not give up.

“We’ll keeping fighting,” said Liliana Nuñez, 40, a doctor who opposes abortion and was protesting outside the courthouse on Monday.