By 65 votes against, 62 in favor and one abstention, the initiative, presented by the opposition, was rejected in the lower house and was shelved for at least one year.
We regret the rejection of the decriminalization of abortion, which we had approved in the Women’s Commission, declared the parliamentarian Marisela Santibáñez, adding that this practice exists but there are still many who prefer to hide it and condemn those who make that difficult decision. So far in Chile this procedure is only allowed in the event of fetal unfeasibility, rape or risk to the life of the mother, and those who do not comply with this provision may receive penalties of between two and five years in prison.
According to the Abortion Action Board, in the country between 80,000 and 260,000 clandestine interruptions of pregnancy are practiced each year, of which only three percent are due to the three causes.
“Many still prefer that there be clandestine abortions where women are subjected to inhumane conditions,” denounced deputy Maya Fernández.
The also parliamentarian Maite Orsini, one of the promoters of the project, expressed her decision to continue the fight until achieving a free, legal and free abortion for all women.
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