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Chile’s lower Chamber of Deputies has rejected a Bill that sought to introduce abortion on demand up to 14 weeks gestation.
The legislation, introduced in January this year, sought to amend the current Chilean penal code so that the current prohibitions on abortion only applied after 14 weeks.
After the vote in November, the lower chamber posted on Twitter: “The Chamber rejected a motion that modifies the Penal Code, to decriminalize consensual abortion by women within the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. The project is shelved”.
Abortion is currently legal in Chile under restricted circumstances including if the mother’s being pregnant is a result of rape or if the mother’s life is in danger.
Rosario Corvalán, a lawyer with the legislative department of the Chilean NGO Comunidad y Justicia, expressed her joy over “the result and for the message it sends to citizens”…
