Legal, Safe and Free Abortion: A Continuous Debate

First Amendment: 30/09/2021 – 01:51

Worldwide, approximately 19 million unsafe abortions are performed each year. 13% of maternal deaths worldwide result from this practice. In Latin America, 62 women die for every 100,000 abortions, representing a mortality rate of 12%, the leading cause of maternal death in Argentina; In Chile, the third in Mexico, the fourth.

Uruguay, where women can abort since 2013 in the first 12 weeks and up to 14 weeks in case of rape, is the big norm in the region. The state provides figures showing the effectiveness of having a clear policy, accompanied by chapters on sex education, protection, and self-care. Before the new regulations, there were about 33,000 clandestine abortions a year; Seven years later, the number was reduced to 10,000 procedures performed within the time limits estimated by law. The number of deaths has dropped dramatically: only one woman has died since then due to medical complications during the legal termination of her pregnancy.

Recently, in Chile, the House of Representatives agreed to decriminalize abortion, another step on the road in that country’s legislature, and now the bill is missing from the Senate to become law.

To analyze this issue, we are accompanied by:

– Maguy Fernández Valdez, candidate for the position of National Representative of the Frente Todes and Secretary General of “Nuevo Encoentro” in La Capa, an autonomous city in Buenos Aires.

– Viviana Álvarez Velasco, educator, reference for Educators for Life in Argentina and works with various pro-life organizations.

– On the France 24 study, we were accompanied by Cristina Rosero Artega, legal advisor to the Center for Reproductive Rights.