Chile's Senate Health Commission approved a bill decriminalizing abortion in three specific cases Tuesday, with the Christian Democratic Party voting for it—in a surprising move—inching one step closer to lifting a decades-long ban on the practice imposed in 1989 by the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship.
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Three out of five senators approved President Michelle Bachelet's proposal to allow pregnancy terminations in three circumstances: when the pregnancy resulted from a rape, when the life of the mother is at risk, and when the fetus has serious defects.
The draft will now go through the constitutional commission, before another debate in the higher chamber—a difficult path as the legislation has deeply divided lawmakers, including members of Bachelet's governing coalition.
But this afternoon, the vote unexpectedly counted with the support of Senator Carolina Goic, leader of the Christian Democratic Party, which allowed the bill to be approved.
The Christian Democrats, part of the governing coalition, have been one of the main opponents against the abortion bill, especially the provision allowing the procedure in case of rape.
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Socialist Senator Fulvio Rossi said, “Whoever is against the bill believes they hold the absolute truth on how much the life of a fetus is worth, while disregarding whoever disagrees with their values.”
“As for us, we believe it's an atrocity to force an 11-year-old girl, victim of rape, to keep her baby, or to risk the life of a woman when her pregnancy can cause her death,” he added according to Bio Bio Chile.
On Saturday, catholics and evangelists who oppose the bill, marched in a bid to pressure Christian Democratic senators to vote against the legislation.
“It is a mockery that members of a party that calls itself ‘Christian’ dare to legalize the killing of the innocent,” said Carmen Croxatto of Chile’s Pro-Life Pro-Family Network, reported Life News.
According to the head of the National Service of Woman Claudia Pascual, the government expects the legislation to pass the Senate before local elections in October and then its third legislative debate before January 2017, so it can be promulgated by then.
The lower chamber approved the bill in early March, after one year of intense debates.
Reforming the abortion ban in Chile—which has one of the strictest abortion laws in the world—was one of Bachelet's promises during her re-election campaign in 2013.
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When the bill was about to be introduced in Congress in January, the Chilean health minister was forced to resign after saying that abortion was more accessible to people with greater financial resources.
Bachelet's position in Congress has been weakened in recent months—her approval rating sank to 27 percent in June, with her education reform facing fierce and long-standing resistance from teachers and students.
In Chile, a woman who chooses to abort still risks up to five years in prison—even if her own life is in danger, her pregnancy is the result of a rape or the fetus is considered non-viable.
Only five other countries have the same ban: El Salvador, Nicaragua, Malta, the Dominican Republic and Vatican City. An estimated 120,000 women have illegal abortions in Chile each year.
Abortion in Chile was originally legalized in 1930, but in 1989 the Pinochet military regime banned the practice.