Chile Chamber of Deputies givers general approval to bill decriminalizing abortion pre-14 weeks of pregnancy

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Chilean Chamber of Deputies has approved on Tuesday the bill to decriminalize abortion during the first 14 weeks of gestation, which will now be returned to the Women and Gender Equity Commission for its discussion in particular matters.

The initiative, which modifies the Penal Code, received 75 votes in favor, 68 against, and two abstentions. Among those who gave the green light to the project were some deputies of the Christian Democracy party.

However, some also voted against it, even though its presidential candidate, Yasna Provoste, has openly shown herself to be in favor of decriminalizing abortion. The ruling party and the ultra-right voted against it.

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Reactions to the approval have been mixed, with defenders of the bill such as Karol Cariola of the Communist Party defending that “sanity has prevailed” since “it makes no sense to criminalize women who decide to have an abortion for reasons other than the three grounds,” which are the circumstances under which abortion is currently allowed.

“This is a recognition of women’s sexual and reproductive rights. The three grounds are not enough, it is important to advance in decriminalization and not to criminalize women for having an abortion. We are going to continue fighting until abortion is legal, safe, and a guarantee presented by the State,” indicated another of the promoters of the initiative, Natalia Castillo, from Frente Amplio, according to ‘La Tercera’.

This Tuesday, “we have not voted to end abortions or to give them free rein, that is an absurd caricature”, defended Maite Orsini of Revolución Democrática, but “if women can have an abortion without fear of being imprisoned for deciding for their bodies.”

In contrast, the deputy of Renovación Nacional Francisco Eguiguren regretted that “today we have once again given a sad demonstration that when it is necessary to defend fundamental rights, especially those of the most innocent, we do not have our pants on properly.”

“We will continue to fight so that life prevails over death, especially of those who are in the womb, who are innocent,” he added, while Karin Luck, also from Renovación Nacional, considered that it is “a really sad day” since “it is not about values or religion, it is about the fundamental right declared by the United Nations, which is the right to life.”

Also, the deputy of the same party, Catalina del Real, has shown her rejection to the green light of the project, since “it is going against fundamental rights, against all the scientific evidence”, since “in an ultrasound scan one can see what a human being of 14 weeks is, a complete human being.”