Versión Español
EspañolIn an interview with Spanish newspaper El País, President of Chile Michelle Bachelet announced that before the end of this year she will back legislation to either legalize or decriminalize abortion in the Andean country.
Bachelet explained that in Congress there are currently several bills to soften the nation’s abortion prohibition, and that her cabinet is reviewing them to decide which one the executive will support.
Regarding the possible date for the initiative, the president said, “I think it will happen during the second half of the year — probably in the final months.”
The New Majority coalition that supports Bachelet in Congress holds enough seats to pass this bill (69 of the 120 deputies and 22 of the 38 senators). Some classical liberal legislators and other independent groups could also join the initiative.
On June 19, Amnesty International (AI) applauded Bachelet’s administration for starting the necessary campaigning, since Chile is one of the five Latin-American countries where abortion is still banned under all circumstances.
“By planning to decriminalize abortion, Chile is demonstrating its willingness to respect and protect the rights of women and girls and to not discriminate,” said Erika Guevara Rosas, director of AI for the Americas.
Notwithstanding, there are large segments of Chilean society that believe abortion should be illegal in all forms. That includes Siempre por la Vida (Always for Life), which organized a protest last month at the presidential palace, and Juntos por la Vida (Together for Life).
Chile dice NO al Aborto #velaxlavida #Santiago #11ciudades #noalabortoenchile pic.twitter.com/GZg3Fi4Ev2
— No al aborto (@chileprovida) June 21, 2014
Source: El País, La Vanguardia, BBC Mundo, Life Site News.
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