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Chile: Difference between revisions
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===Laws & Social Stigmas=== | ===Laws & Social Stigmas=== | ||
As of August 2017, Chilean abortion law is under massive transformation. Until very recently, abortion was completely illegal without exceptions. However, in August 2017, Chilean lawmakers voted to allow abortions in certain cases, which include: when the pregnancy is the result of rape, when the pregnancy endangers the life of the woman, and when the fetus is at risk of a deadly birth defect. The bill must now go to the Constitutional Court for review, meaning its not official law yet (as of September 2017), but it may be soon.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/03/americas/chile-vote-abortion-ban-eased/index.html Chilean lawmakers vote to ease abortion ban]</ref> This reverses decades of the highly strict Chilean abortion laws, which were among the strictest in the world. These strict abortion laws can be attributed to the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990). According to current Chilean abortion law, a woman cannot seek an abortion, even if the pregnancy endangers her life, if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, or if the fetus will not survive the pregnancy. If a woman obtains an abortion in Chile, she can currently face up to five years in prison.<ref>[http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Chiles-Abortion-Bill-Approved-by-Senate-Commission-20160906-0031.html Chile's Abortion Bill Approved by Senate Commission]</ref> | |||
Chilean laws were not always this strict. From 1931-1989, therapeutic abortion (i.e. abortion when doctors considered it medically necessary) was permitted in Chile. In fact, if a women received approval from two doctors, the abortion would be legal. Yet, "On 15 September 1989, however, the Government of Chile amended section 119 of the Health Code to provide that 'No action may be executed that has as its goal the inducement of abortion' (Law No. 18,826). The justification provided for the new restrictions was that, given the advances in modern medicine, an abortion was no longer needed to save the life of a pregnant woman. Owing to this amendment, it is generally, although not unanimously, believed that no abortions can now be legally performed in Chile."<ref>[http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/abortion/profiles.htm UN Report: Abortion in Chile]</ref> After the fall of Pinochet's military dictatorship, it was the Catholic Church authority that has most strongly advocated to keep existing abortion laws.<ref>[http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/03/28/a-crack-in-the-world-s-most-restrictive-abortion-law.html A Crack in the World’s Most Restrictive Abortion Law]</ref> | Chilean laws were not always this strict. From 1931-1989, therapeutic abortion (i.e. abortion when doctors considered it medically necessary) was permitted in Chile. In fact, if a women received approval from two doctors, the abortion would be legal. Yet, "On 15 September 1989, however, the Government of Chile amended section 119 of the Health Code to provide that 'No action may be executed that has as its goal the inducement of abortion' (Law No. 18,826). The justification provided for the new restrictions was that, given the advances in modern medicine, an abortion was no longer needed to save the life of a pregnant woman. Owing to this amendment, it is generally, although not unanimously, believed that no abortions can now be legally performed in Chile."<ref>[http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/abortion/profiles.htm UN Report: Abortion in Chile]</ref> After the fall of Pinochet's military dictatorship, it was the Catholic Church authority that has most strongly advocated to keep existing abortion laws.<ref>[http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/03/28/a-crack-in-the-world-s-most-restrictive-abortion-law.html A Crack in the World’s Most Restrictive Abortion Law]</ref> | ||