The government of Chile announced on Wednesday that it has submitted a bill to parliament aiming to legalise abortion up to the 14th week of pregnancy — a campaign promise of President Gabriel Boric, who came to power in 2022.
“Thirty-six years after the banning of therapeutic abortion in our country by decree of the military dictatorship, we will now open a dialogue in parliament,” said Minister for Women, Antonia Orellana, during a press conference.
She was referring to a measure enacted by Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship (1973–1990) shortly before handing over power to a democratically elected government.
Prior to that ban in 1989, abortion had been allowed in Chile for more than 50 years in cases where the pregnant woman’s life was at risk or the foetus was deemed non-viable. But in the regime’s final days, Pinochet outlawed it under all circumstances- a ban that remained in place for years under pressure from the Catholic Church and conservative groups.
Since 2017, abortion in Chile has been legal only in cases where the woman’s life is at risk, the foetus is non-viable, or the pregnancy resulted from rape.
President Boric’s bill is expected to face significant hurdles in parliament, as he holds no majority in either legislative chamber, and the opposition rejects any expansion of abortion rights.
Minister Orellana acknowledged that it would be “naïve” to assume the bill would come to a vote before the end of Boric’s term in March 2026.
The decriminalisation of abortion has long been a central demand of feminist groups in Chile.
According to a public opinion research centre, 34% of Chileans believe abortion should be allowed in all cases at the woman’s discretion, while 50% think it should be permitted only under specific conditions.
In 2022, a proposed new constitution- intended to replace the one inherited from Pinochet’s dictatorship and which would have broadly legalised abortion- was rejected by voters. The draft had been written by a constituent assembly dominated by left-wing members and supported by President Boric.
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