The Chilean president, Gabriel Boricannounced that he will propose a law abortion free during the second half of the year because, she said, “the women of Chile deserve their right to decide.”
Chile decriminalized abortion in 2017, during the second term of the former socialist president Michelle Bacheletand approved a law that allows the voluntary interruption of pregnancy on three grounds (risk to the mother, fetal inviability and rape), although feminist movements denounce that many obstacles still persist for its full implementation.
In that sense, Boric indicated that the Government introduced a new regulation to “improve the application” of the law, which seeks to “guarantee that the population knows its options, ensure a right that is established in the law, that the objection of conscience does not hinder these three causes and that the place where one lives and the ability to pay are not a barrier.”
Until 2017, voluntary terminations of pregnancy were totally penalizedsomething established by the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990) shortly before the general left power.
Boric’s announcement aroused loud applause among those attending the Public Account, but also boos from right-wing parliamentarians, who are currently the majority in Congress.
Since the approval of the law of the three causes, the debate to expand the law and approve free abortion has been reopened from time to time, but the right opposes frontally to this and surveys show that society is divided.
The last attempt was made in 2022, when a proposal to change the Chilean Constitution, in force since the military dictatorship, proposed guaranteeing free abortion in the Magna Carta, but it was largely rejected by citizens.
Source: Gestion
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
