- Title: Protesters march in Chile after bid to ease abortion ban stumbles
- Date: 26th July 2017
- Summary: SANTIAGO, CHILE (JULY 25, 2017) (REUTERS) **** WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY **** PRO-ABORTION SUPPORTERS MARCHING IN DOWNTOWN SANTIAGO, LARGE BANNER BEING HELD UP AT FRONT OF PROTESTERS THAT READS "SOVEREIGNTY OVER THE BODY. SOVEREIGNTY OF THE PEOPLE. FREE ABORTION NOW" PROTESTERS CHANTING AND HOLDING PLACARDS DURING MARCH BANNERS FROM DIFFERENT WOMEN'S GROUPS SUPPORTING LEGALISED ABORTION PROTESTERS AT FRONT OF THE MARCH CARRYING LARGE BANNERS IN SUPPORT OF ABORTION / DOG WALKING IN FRONT OF MARCHERS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PROTESTER, DANITZA, SAYING: "An abortion where everybody has the right to an abortion and not obligatory motherhood. We don't want three causes, want an infinite number of causes because women have the right to make a decision on their body." PLACARD HELP UP BY PROTEST THAT READS "I DECIDE WHAT ENTERS AND LEAVES MY VAGINA" AND WITH ARTISTIC REPRESENTATION OF VAGINA ON PLACARD PROTESTER IN MAKE UP AND RED CROSS OVER HER FACE STANDING IN FRONT OF MARCHERS PROTESTER IN MAKE UP WITH RED CROSS OVER HER FACE AND "ABORTION" WRITTEN ON HER UPPER CHEST PROTESTERS MARCHING ON STREET (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PROTESTER, CARLA, SAYING: "I am marching because I want women to have free access to abortion." PLACARDS FROM AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL RIGHTS GROUP BEING HELD UP BY PROTESTERS DURING MARCH PROTESTERS HOLDING UP BANNER WHICH FEATURES IMAGE OF ARTISTIC REPRESENTATION OF UTERUS AND MESSAGE THAT READS "ABORTION WITHOUT HAVING TO GIVE A REASON"
- Embargoed: 9th August 2017 02:16
- Keywords: abortion legalise Chile law protest
- Location: SANTIAGO, CHILE
- City: SANTIAGO, CHILE
- Country: Chile
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0016R7VDC3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS NUDITY
Hundreds of protesters marched on Santiago on Tuesday (July 25) to demand abortion be legalised in the South American country, just days after Chile's Chamber of Deputies fell one vote short of passing a bill which would have eased the country's strict abortion law.
The Senate narrowly had passed a bill that would legalise abortion when a woman's life is in danger, when a foetus is unviable or when a pregnancy results from rape. But the motion failed to get up in the lower chamber after conservative lawmakers in Bachelet's centre-left coalition abstained. Other lawmakers were on vacation, leaving the government one vote short of the 67 needed for passage.
But protesters in Santiago want the bill to go further and for abortion to be accessible to all women, without having to provide a moral reason for undergoing the procedure.
Chile is one of only a handful of countries where abortion is illegal without exception. The ban was put in place during the closing days of Augusto Pinochet's 1973-1990 dictatorship. Bachelet pledged reform when she took office for a second time in 2014.
Although Chile is one of Latin America's more socially conservative countries and the Roman Catholic Church retains significant influence, opinion polls show about 70 percent of Chileans favour easing the abortion ban. The bill will now go through a messy reconciliation process that could take weeks. Abortion rights advocates fear the final version may pass after a change in the composition of Chile's Constitutional Court scheduled for late August, which is expected to make it more conservative. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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