The Constitutional Court of Chile has validated the authorization of abortion in cases of rape, in particular, when the pregnancy endangers the health of the mother.
Each year, nearly 120,000 illegal abortions are performed in Chile. Some of them will now be authorized. The Chilean Constitutional Court has just validated this Monday the decriminalization of voluntary termination of pregnancy (abortion), under certain conditions, thus validating a vote of Congress.
On August 2, the deputies voted for a law authorizing abortion in cases of rape, when the mother’s health is endangered, or when the fetus is not considered viable. But right-wing parliamentarians had raised a problem of constitutionality, arguing an infringement of the principle of the right to life, contained in the Chilean Constitution. The “Sages” therefore went against this claim.
28 years later
Chile was, however, ahead of many countries. As early as 1931, nearly 25 years before France, therapeutic abortion had been authorized. But in 1989, under the Pinochet dictatorship, it had been suppressed.
In this country dominated by the Catholic Church, the reestablishment of this right will have taken 28 years. And nothing was won in advance. In Congress, while the right was united to face the bill, the left was divided. The Constitutional Court then only validated it by six votes to four.
The insistence of Michelle Bachelet, is not foreign. This battle was part of the electoral promises of the Socialist president, herself a pediatrician and former Minister of Health. This social victory is, moreover, a political victory.
The population supports the decision
According to polls, more than two-thirds of Chileans agree with the reform. As soon as the announcement was made, hundreds of people gathered in the streets of Santiago, the capital, to express their joy.
“What this decision clearly means is that Chile will no longer appear, once and for all, on the list of countries which still penalize abortion in all cases,” said Ana Piquer, director. from Amnesty International for Chile.
In Latin America, three other countries still completely prohibit abortion, whatever the conditions: El Salvador, Surinam, Nicaragua. In the world, there are now 17 left, including four in Europe. In Malta, Andorra, the Vatican and San Marino, it is in fact still strictly prohibited.
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