A committee of the lower house of Chile’s legislature on Monday narrowly voted not to recommend a bill that would allow elective abortion up to 14 weeks of pregnancy. The bill will still be discussed by Chamber of Deputies, though with a negative recommendation from its Committee on Women, Equity and Gender. The committee voted 7-6 against the bill Aug. 9. In September 2017, Chile’s legislature decriminalized abortion on the grounds of fetal non-viability, risk to life of the mother, and rape for up to 12 weeks gestation, or 14 weeks if a minor under 14 is raped. The bill to extend legal, elective abortion up to 14 weeks was introduced Jan. 13. If passed, the penal code would have to be amended. During the Aug. 9 committee session, Congresswoman María José Hoffmann of the Independent Democratic Union, part of the governing coalition, pointed out that the unborn baby is a human being from conception, and, therefore, the mother has autonomy over her body but not over the body of the human being who is in her womb. Hoffman added that there are no women who have gone to prison for getting an abortion, but that abortion harms women.
Chilean Legislative Committee Votes Against Permitting Elective Abortions| National Catholic Register
Chilean Legislative Committee Votes Against Permitting Elective Abortions| National Catholic Register
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