![As US undoes abortion rights, Chile works to enshrine them](https://www.berlinertageblatt.de/media/shared/articles/bf/70/a3/As-US-undoes-abortion-rights--Chile-033166.jpg)
-
Multiple people shot along highway in US state of Kentucky
-
'Super proud' Sabalenka downs Pegula to win US Open thriller
-
In Papua New Guinea, Pope holds mass 'at the edge of the world'
-
Hewett stays positive for wheelchair tennis despite agonising defeat
-
Three things on US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka
-
Sabalenka downs Pegula to win US Open thriller
-
USA men land Paralympic basketball three-peat, Jiang takes 7th swim gold
-
USA slump to first home defeat against Canada in 67 years
-
Argentina hand Australia record 67-27 loss in Rugby Championship
-
England impress on Carsley bow, Germany, Dutch hit five
-
AFP photographer wins top prize for Gaza coverage
-
No Love for Packers for three weeks after ligament sprain: reports
-
Pedro Almodovar: chronicler of modern Spain crowned in Venice
-
Almodovar wins top Venice prize for end-of-life film
-
Trump sounds dark tone at rally, Harris 'ready' for debate
-
Wirtz and Musiala dazzle to kick-start new Germany era
-
Chinese teenager takes 7th gold of Paris Paralympics
-
England interim boss Carsley 'respects' divided opinions over anthem
-
Neuville moves to the front in the Acropolis Rally
-
Garfield, Pugh charm Toronto in new romance 'We Live in Time'
-
21 boys confirmed dead in Kenya school inferno
-
Over 100,000 protest in France against new prime minister
-
Golden 30 minutes takes China to swimming Paralympics swimming domination
-
Green leads Australia to T20 series sweep of Scotland
-
Nigeria, Cameroon win afer chaotic AFCON build-ups
-
Nicole Kidman: A-lister, cinematic chameleon, wins in Venice
-
'I had to prove myself', says Kolisi after win against All Blacks
-
Almodovar wins top prize at Venice film festival
-
Grealish savours England redemption after 'worst summer'
-
Carsley makes flying start as England interim boss in win over Ireland
-
Springboks close on Rugby Championship with storming win over All Blacks
-
Sri Lanka's De Silva and Kamindu Mendis defy England in third Test
-
Farrell's Racing lose on opening day of Top 14
-
Ireland and UK to 'reset' relations as Starmer visits Dublin
-
Dunbar takes second Vuelta stage as Roglic closes in on victory
-
Fritz eyes US Open glory to end 21 years of American hurt
-
Thousands protest in France against new prime minister
-
Death toll from Kenya school blaze rises to 21
-
Brazil's right rallies for 'freedom' after X suspended
-
Trump to hold rally in swing state, Harris preps for debate
-
Stone at the double as Sri Lanka collapse against England in third Test
-
French tennis player takes legal action over online abuse
-
Italy backs Kyiv's 'legitimate defence' as Zelensky presses allies
-
The Body Shop rescued from administration after deal
-
Martin roars to victory in San Marino sprint, extends MotoGP lead
-
Smoke and screams: The horror of Kenya's school dorm inferno
-
MotoGP leader Martin roars to victory in San Marino sprint
-
Ireland and UK to 'reset' relations as Starmer begins Dublin visit
-
Ma Lin turns brutal encounter with bear into glorious Paralympic career
-
Flintoff appointed England Lions head coach
![As US undoes abortion rights, Chile works to enshrine them](https://www.berlinertageblatt.de/media/shared/articles/bf/70/a3/As-US-undoes-abortion-rights--Chile-033166.jpg)
As US undoes abortion rights, Chile works to enshrine them
As the United States loses a five-decade-old right to abortion, Chile -- long one of Latin America's most conservative countries -- is gearing up to enshrine the same right in its constitution.
It is a guarantee hard fought for by supporters of abortion rights, but a final hurdle remains: Chile's first post-dictatorship constitution will be put to a referendum on September 4.
If approved, Chile will become one of few countries in the world, and the first in majority Catholic Latin America, to guarantee the right to "voluntary termination of pregnancy" in its founding law.
Until 2017, Chile had an outright ban on the procedure, and today allows it only in cases of rape, or if there is a threat to the life of the woman or fetus.
The issue is still divisive in Chile, but much less so since the Catholic Church's sway over lawmakers has weakened in recent years.
A recent Ipsos poll found 41 percent of Chileans in favor of elective abortion.
Another 32 percent approve of it conditionally, such as cases of pregnancy due to rape.
Seven percent are against it altogether.
- 'Call things by their name' -
Even among the 154 members of the Constitutional Convention elected to draft a new founding law for Chile -- half of them women -- there was no consensus on including an explicit mention of abortion in the clause on sexual and reproductive rights.
Some feared adding it would generate controversy that could lead to the document being rejected altogether.
But Chile's influential feminist movement forced its inclusion, obtaining the 15,000 signatures required for a proposal to be considered by the drafting convention.
"It is necessary to call things by their name," said convention member Alondra Carrillo, an activist who fought for stipulating an abortion right in the constitution "without any euphemism."
As it stands now, Article 16 of the draft document outlines a right of access to "services" required for "voluntary termination of pregnancy."
Chile is not the only country in Latin America that is moving in the opposite direction as the United States on abortion rights.
In February, the constitutional court of Colombia -- another conservative nation -- decriminalized abortion for up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, joining Uruguay, Cuba, Guyana and Argentina in allowing the procedure.
It is the latest cutoff for abortion in Latin America, and went against the wishes of President Ivan Duque, who described the move as "heinous."
The procedure is also legal in Mexico City and eight more of Mexico's 32 states. US women had already turned to services in Mexico for abortion care, often due to high healthcare costs in the United States, but demand is expected to increase in light of new restrictions.
Most countries in Latin America allow abortion for medical reasons or in cases of rape, but an outright ban remains in place in El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
- 'Life must be defended' -
Chile's constitutional draft has been criticized by some for not determining a gestational cutoff, which opponents have argued will allow abortions to happen "until nine months" of pregnancy.
Such a conclusion would be "completely false," said Janise Meneses, a human rights expert and Constitutional Assembly member.
"The deadline is not mentioned because it is not a constitutional matter" but rather one for the law, she told AFP.
Anti-abortionists in Chile are looking to the US Supreme Court ruling that "the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion" but was rather a political decision.
"We must not approve a Constitution that establishes the right to abortion," said Bernardita Silva of the Chile Siempre "pro-life" group, calling the US ruling a "very encouraging" legal example.
"Life must be defended," she added.
Even after the fall of the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in 1990, Chile continued to lag behind on civil rights under the influence of powerful ultra-conservative Catholic groups such as Opus Dei.
Same-sex relations between men were criminalized until 1999 and divorce allowed only in 2004.
In 2017, by which time the Church was severely weakened by a series of pedophilia scandals, Chile allowed abortion for medical reasons and in cases of rape.
Two years later, the country erupted in anti-establishment anger with deadly mass protests to demand a more equitable society -- including civil and reproductive rights.
Same-sex marriage was legalized last year.
In December, Chileans elected President Gabriel Boric, who came to power with a leftist program that includes defending the right to abortion, opposed by his conservative rival.
M.Furrer--BTB