Chile has re-authorized abortion, banned since the Pinochet dictatorship, in cases of rape, fetal malformations and health risks for the mother.
Chile allows conditional abortion. Completely banned since the Pinochet dictatorship, it can be practiced in cases of rape, fetal malformation and risk to the health of the mother. The Chamber of Deputies of Chile voted on the text on Thursday. It must now be validated by the Senate.
Before the arrival of General Augusto Pinochet, in 1973, abortion had been authorized for fifty years in the event of a non-viable fetus and danger to the health or life of the mother. In 1989, the leader had banned it, just before leaving power. This total ban has been maintained since the return of democracy in 1990, under pressure from the Catholic Church.
Zika reopens the debate in South America
In August 2015, the Chilean Congress approved a text aimed at decriminalizing abortion in cases of risk to the life of the mother, deformity or pregnancy due to rape. The subject is particularly sensitive, in one of the most conservative countries in Latin America, where divorce was only approved in 2005, and where more than 70% of the population declare themselves Catholic.
Although this decision predates the epidemic, in Latin America, it was the Zika virus that revived the debate on abortion. The link with virus infection and cases of microcephaly observed in babies exposed in utero has brought the issue of the right to abortion back to the fore.
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