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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Chile court rules in favor of abortion in some cases

Pro- and anti-abortion demonstrators shout slogans outside the Constitutional Court building in Santiago, Chile, Aug. 18, 2017. (Esteban Felix / Associated Press)
Associated Press

SANTIAGO, Chile – Chile’s Constitutional Court on Monday upheld a measure that would end the country’s absolute ban on abortions.

The court’s 6-4 vote accepted the constitutionality of a measure to legalize abortions when a woman’s life is in danger, when a fetus is not viable and in cases of rape.

Chile is the last country in South America to ban abortion in all cases.

Court secretary Rodrigo Pica said details of the decision, which cannot be appealed, would be released on Aug. 28. Demonstrators in favor of therapeutic abortion celebrated outside the courtroom in the Chilean capital, while opponents protested.

President Michelle Bachelet has said she will sign the measure that passed Congress this month. Conservative lawmakers had filed an appeal with the court to halt the law, arguing it was unconstitutional.

The Chilean reproductive rights organization Miles hailed the court’s decision as a “historic moment that marks a before and after for Chilean women.”

Chile legalized abortion for medical reasons in 1931, but the procedure was then banned under all circumstances in 1989 during the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

Women found guilty of having abortions now face prison terms of up to five years. Still, thousands of illegal abortions are performed every year. Most involve black-market purchases of the drug misoprostol to end first-trimester pregnancies.

Those who can afford to sometimes seek abortions in neighboring Argentina or beyond.

The bill’s passage comes as views continue to shift on social issues once considered taboo in the heavily Roman Catholic nation that only began to allow divorce in 2004. Congress recognized civil unions for same-sex couples in 2015.

Chile is one of four countries that currently prohibit abortion in all cases, according to the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights, though a handful of others have rules so restrictive that they amount to de facto bans.