Good news for SRHR in Chile: Michelle Bachelet proposes end to total abortion ban!

WGNRR welcomes Michelle Bachelet’s proposal sent forward in Congress to legalize abortion in cases of rape or when there is a threat to the mother or foetus.

The current absolute prohibition on abortion does not respond to the Chilean Government’s duty to guarantee the protection of its citizens and provide access to dignified health services, placing the country outside the framework of international treaties and human rights standards. The total ban was introduced in 1989, in one of the last acts of General Augusto Pinochet’s 17-year-long military rule.

“Chile had an important legal and public health tradition, interrupted arbitrarily in the last days of the dictatorship,” said Ms Bachelet.

This is a huge step forward for women not only in Chile, but in Latin America as a whole, as it embodies a desire for strong commitment to respect, protect, and fulfill women and girls’ sexual and reproductive rights, including their right to health, physical and psychological integrity, and bodily autonomy. Chile is one of the countries in Latin America with severe abortion restrictions together with El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Haiti and Suriname.

At WGNRR we are committed to working together with the SRHR movement in Chile, joining our forces in advocacy, networking, and mobilization efforts related to the new proposed legislation.

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