Via AP news wire
Tue., September 28, 2021,
Global Day Of Action Venezuela
(Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
The lower house of Chile’s Congress took a step toward decriminalizing abortion in most cases Tuesday, voting to craft a law barring prosecution of women who get abortions in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy.
The initiative, which is opposed by the government, still faces hurdles before it can become law. While lawmakers in the lower house voted 75-68 with two abstentions to debate it, details of a bill will have to be agreed upon before the matter then goes to the Senate
Currently, abortion is allowed in Chile only in cases of rape, medical conditions that endanger a woman’s life or instances when a fetus would not be able to survive.
The vote by legislators came the same day that women's groups in the region were staging demonstrations against abortion restrictions.
There are no statistics on how many clandestine abortions are performed per year in Chile. The Humanas Corporation, a women’s rights group, estimates there are between 60,000 and 70,000.
Decriminalization of abortion in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy would protect women from seeking the procedure in possibly unsafe conditions, said Chilean lawmakers who support the measure.
“Condemning a woman for simply having an abortion is immoral,” opposition deputy Andrea Parra said.
Mónica Zalaquett, the minister of women’s affairs, said that “this government will always protect life, from its conception” and that “no woman in Chile is serving” jail time for having an abortion.
Chile holds general elections Nov. 21 and is also in the process of drafting a new constitution to replace the old military-era charter.
Many countries in heavy Catholic Latin America have restrictive abortion laws, though legalization efforts in some nations have gained momentum.
The project to decriminalize abortion in most cases languished in Chile’s Congress for several years and was only reactivated when a similar law was approved in Argentina in December 2020.
This month, Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled it is unconstitutional to punish abortion, unanimously annulling several provisions of a law from Coahuila — a state on the Texas border — that had made abortion a criminal act.
The decision in Mexico came soon after a Texas law took effect prohibiting abortions once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity in the fetus.
Women across Latin America march in favor of abortion rights
Ana Isabel Martinez
Tue., September 28, 2021
Rally in support of legal and safe abortion during a march to mark
The lower house of Chile’s Congress took a step toward decriminalizing abortion in most cases Tuesday, voting to craft a law barring prosecution of women who get abortions in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy.
The initiative, which is opposed by the government, still faces hurdles before it can become law. While lawmakers in the lower house voted 75-68 with two abstentions to debate it, details of a bill will have to be agreed upon before the matter then goes to the Senate
Currently, abortion is allowed in Chile only in cases of rape, medical conditions that endanger a woman’s life or instances when a fetus would not be able to survive.
The vote by legislators came the same day that women's groups in the region were staging demonstrations against abortion restrictions.
There are no statistics on how many clandestine abortions are performed per year in Chile. The Humanas Corporation, a women’s rights group, estimates there are between 60,000 and 70,000.
Decriminalization of abortion in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy would protect women from seeking the procedure in possibly unsafe conditions, said Chilean lawmakers who support the measure.
“Condemning a woman for simply having an abortion is immoral,” opposition deputy Andrea Parra said.
Mónica Zalaquett, the minister of women’s affairs, said that “this government will always protect life, from its conception” and that “no woman in Chile is serving” jail time for having an abortion.
Chile holds general elections Nov. 21 and is also in the process of drafting a new constitution to replace the old military-era charter.
Many countries in heavy Catholic Latin America have restrictive abortion laws, though legalization efforts in some nations have gained momentum.
The project to decriminalize abortion in most cases languished in Chile’s Congress for several years and was only reactivated when a similar law was approved in Argentina in December 2020.
This month, Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled it is unconstitutional to punish abortion, unanimously annulling several provisions of a law from Coahuila — a state on the Texas border — that had made abortion a criminal act.
The decision in Mexico came soon after a Texas law took effect prohibiting abortions once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity in the fetus.
Women across Latin America march in favor of abortion rights
Ana Isabel Martinez
Tue., September 28, 2021
Rally in support of legal and safe abortion during a march to mark
the International Safe Abortion Day, in Bogota
By Ana Isabel Martinez
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Thousands of women demonstrated in several Latin American cities on Tuesday to commemorate the global day of action for access to safe and legal abortion, in a region where the procedure is fully permitted only in a handful of countries.
In Mexico City, women marched to the historic center under the gaze of police with shields and riot helmets. Authorities put up protective fences on some major buildings and monuments that in the past have been spray-painted during demonstrations.
"I still don't know if I want to be a mom, but I want to have the right to decide," read a sign held by a young woman with a green scarf around her neck.
Earlier this month Mexico's Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional to criminalize abortion and, shortly after, the government said that those jailed on accusations of having terminated their pregnancy would be released.
Hundreds of other women marched in other parts of Mexico, including in the cities of Cuernavaca and Veracruz.
Every year, thousands of women in Latin America die from unsafe abortions at a time when teenage pregnancies and sexual violence continue to increase in the region.
In Colombia, where abortion is allowed only in cases of rape, risks to the life of the mother, or birth defects, some 800 women marched towards the center of Bogota.
"Women are reminding states and societies that we're full citizens, not second-class, and that we have the right to abort, to voluntarily interrupt pregnancy, to decide about our bodies, about our lives, and about our maternity wards," said Ita Maria Diez, a leader of the Bogota demonstration.
A march was also held in Chile, where the lower house of Congress agreed to debate a bill to decriminalize abortion for up to 14 weeks after pregnancy.
STRICT LAWS
Scores of people in El Salvador waved green flags and marched through San Salvador en route to Congress to demand a loosening of the country's "strict" abortion laws.
Holding up banners saying "it's our right to decide" and "legal abortion, safe and free," the Salvadoran protesters sought to pressure legislators to ease one of the world's strictest abortion laws, which prohibit termination of pregnancy in cases of rape and even if the mother's life is at risk.
The proposals taken to the Salvadoran Congress have been named "Beatriz Reform," in honor of a young woman who in 2013 openly called for an abortion to save her life as she suffered from a chronic disease, which took her life four years later.
"We are asking for minimum measures to add to the Penal Code to guarantee the life and integrity of women," Morena Herrera, a prominent Salvadoran feminist, told journalists.
"It does not require constitutional reform. It can be done now and if it is true that there is independence of powers, the Legislative Assembly must respond," she added.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele earlier this month ruled out any amendments to the abortion laws as part of controversial constitutional changes his government is planning.
But several out of more than 20 Latin American nations still ban abortion outright, including El Salvador, which has sentenced some women to up to 40 years in prison.
(Reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez in Mexico City, additional reporting by Gerardo Arbaiza in San Salvador; Luis Jaime Acosta in Bogota, Fabian Cambero and Gabriela Donoso in Santiago, Editing by Drazen Jorgic and Sandra Maler)
By Ana Isabel Martinez
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Thousands of women demonstrated in several Latin American cities on Tuesday to commemorate the global day of action for access to safe and legal abortion, in a region where the procedure is fully permitted only in a handful of countries.
In Mexico City, women marched to the historic center under the gaze of police with shields and riot helmets. Authorities put up protective fences on some major buildings and monuments that in the past have been spray-painted during demonstrations.
"I still don't know if I want to be a mom, but I want to have the right to decide," read a sign held by a young woman with a green scarf around her neck.
Earlier this month Mexico's Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional to criminalize abortion and, shortly after, the government said that those jailed on accusations of having terminated their pregnancy would be released.
Hundreds of other women marched in other parts of Mexico, including in the cities of Cuernavaca and Veracruz.
Every year, thousands of women in Latin America die from unsafe abortions at a time when teenage pregnancies and sexual violence continue to increase in the region.
In Colombia, where abortion is allowed only in cases of rape, risks to the life of the mother, or birth defects, some 800 women marched towards the center of Bogota.
"Women are reminding states and societies that we're full citizens, not second-class, and that we have the right to abort, to voluntarily interrupt pregnancy, to decide about our bodies, about our lives, and about our maternity wards," said Ita Maria Diez, a leader of the Bogota demonstration.
A march was also held in Chile, where the lower house of Congress agreed to debate a bill to decriminalize abortion for up to 14 weeks after pregnancy.
STRICT LAWS
Scores of people in El Salvador waved green flags and marched through San Salvador en route to Congress to demand a loosening of the country's "strict" abortion laws.
Holding up banners saying "it's our right to decide" and "legal abortion, safe and free," the Salvadoran protesters sought to pressure legislators to ease one of the world's strictest abortion laws, which prohibit termination of pregnancy in cases of rape and even if the mother's life is at risk.
The proposals taken to the Salvadoran Congress have been named "Beatriz Reform," in honor of a young woman who in 2013 openly called for an abortion to save her life as she suffered from a chronic disease, which took her life four years later.
"We are asking for minimum measures to add to the Penal Code to guarantee the life and integrity of women," Morena Herrera, a prominent Salvadoran feminist, told journalists.
"It does not require constitutional reform. It can be done now and if it is true that there is independence of powers, the Legislative Assembly must respond," she added.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele earlier this month ruled out any amendments to the abortion laws as part of controversial constitutional changes his government is planning.
But several out of more than 20 Latin American nations still ban abortion outright, including El Salvador, which has sentenced some women to up to 40 years in prison.
(Reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez in Mexico City, additional reporting by Gerardo Arbaiza in San Salvador; Luis Jaime Acosta in Bogota, Fabian Cambero and Gabriela Donoso in Santiago, Editing by Drazen Jorgic and Sandra Maler)
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