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For Immediate Release
February, 03 2015, 04:15pm EDT
Contact:
Email:,center.press@reprorights.org
President Bachelet Introduces Legislation to Decriminalize Abortion in Chile
President Michelle Bachelet of Chile introduced a bill Saturday that would allow women access to safe and legal abortion services in cases of sexual violence, fetal impairments and life-endangerment.
If passed, this bill would make Chile the 37th country to decriminalize abortion in certain circumstances in the last 20 years and put an end to the country's absolute ban on abortion and the harsh penalties associated with it. Upon her election in May 2014, President Bachelet promised to prioritize the decriminalization of abortion for the women of Chile.
NEW YORK
President Michelle Bachelet of Chile introduced a bill Saturday that would allow women access to safe and legal abortion services in cases of sexual violence, fetal impairments and life-endangerment.
If passed, this bill would make Chile the 37th country to decriminalize abortion in certain circumstances in the last 20 years and put an end to the country's absolute ban on abortion and the harsh penalties associated with it. Upon her election in May 2014, President Bachelet promised to prioritize the decriminalization of abortion for the women of Chile.
Said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights:
"With this legislation, Chile has an historic opportunity to lead the way toward more fully empowering women, protecting women's health and safety, and fulfilling women's fundamental human rights throughout Latin America.
"Extreme abortion bans like Chile's have forced countless women into the shadows when they need to end a pregnancy, risking imprisonment and even their lives.
"While there is much more to do to eliminate the harsh restrictions that have criminalized women's health care in Chile for too long, this is a bold and important first step.
"We commend President Bachelet for making women's reproductive rights a legislative priority, and we call on Congress to act quickly to pass this bill."
The recently introduced bill would only allow women to access an abortion legally within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy in cases of sexual assault, in cases of severe fetal impairments and life-endangerment. . While the legislation is an historic and important step to decriminalize abortion in Chile, the proposed law would require authorization from two medical professionals and does not explicitly allow for a health exception.
"While this proposed legislation is a positive step toward guaranteeing women's rights, it falls short in protecting pregnant women's rights to health and dignity," said Monica Arango, regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Center for Reproductive Rights.
Chile's 1931 health code legalized abortion in limited circumstances, but this reproductive health service was later banned in all circumstances in September 1989. From 2001-2012 close to 400,000 women sought post-abortion care in Chilean public hospitals.
According to a 2014 report published by the Center, 35 countries have amended their laws to expand access to safe and legal abortion services in the last 20 years--a trend that has marked incredible progress toward improving women's rights and lives, including significantly reducing rates of maternal mortality due to unsafe abortion. The report was released alongside the Center's updated World's Abortion Laws map--one of the most comprehensive resources on abortion laws across the globe.
The Center for Reproductive Rights is a global human rights organization of lawyers and advocates who ensure reproductive rights are protected in law as fundamental human rights for the dignity, equality, health, and well-being of every person.
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US President Donald Trump and top administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, characterized Saturday's assault on Venezuela and abduction of the country's president as a warning shot in the direction of Cuba, Mexico, Colombia, and other Latin American nations.
During a Saturday press conference, Trump openly invoked the Monroe Doctrine—an assertion of US dominance of the Western Hemisphere—and said his campaign of aggression against Venezuela represented the "Donroe Doctrine" in action.
In his unwieldy remarks, Trump called out Colombian President Gustavo Petro by name, accusing him without evidence of "making cocaine and sending it to the United States."
"So he does have to watch his ass," the US president said of Petro, who condemned the Trump administration's Saturday attack on Venezuela as "aggression against the sovereignty of Venezuela and Latin America."
Petro responded defiantly to the possibility of the US targeting him, writing on social media that he is "not worried at all."
In a Fox News appearance earlier Saturday, Trump also took aim at the United States' southern neighbor, declaring ominously that "something's going to have to be done with Mexico," which also denounced the attack on Venezuela and abduction of President Nicolás Maduro.
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Rubio, for his part, focused on Cuba—a country whose government he has long sought to topple.
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That the Trump administration wasted no time threatening other nations as it pledged to control Venezuela indefinitely sparked grave warnings, with the leadership of Progressive International cautioning that "this armed attack on Venezuela is not an isolated event."
"It is the next step in the United States' campaign of regime change that stretches from Caracas to Havana—and an attack on the very principle of sovereign equality and the prospects for the Zone of Peace once established by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States," the coalition said in a statement. "This renewed declaration of impunity from Washington is a threat to all nations around the world."
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Update:
President Donald Trump said Saturday that the US intends to control Venezuela until a "proper transition can take place," indicating that the bombing of the South American country and abduction of its president were just the start of the Trump administration's illegal intervention there.
"We are going to run the country," Trump said during a press conference at his Florida resort, flanked by top US officials. Asked to elaborate, Trump said his administration is in the process of "designating various people" to run the government, adding that "we're not afraid of boots on the ground."
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Earlier:
President Donald Trump is set to hold a press conference late Saturday morning at his Mar-a-Lago resort hours after US forces bombed Venezuela and abducted the nation's president, Nicolás Maduro, who is being taken to New York to face new federal charges.
The press conference is scheduled to begin at 11 am ET, and it comes as Trump is facing backlash at home and around the world for launching an illegal regime-change war.
Watch live:
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Democratic lawmakers expressing that view are "weak, stupid people," the president said, declaring that the actions he approved without congressional authorization and in violation of international law should be applauded.
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