Abortion in Chile
Natalia Sánchez Solís
Inglés en el Contexto Académico, Text & Use
Miss Paulina Tapia
10/04/13
Why is abortion in Chile illegal without exception? In order to fully understand and choose our beliefs for this topic, it is compulsory to take some things into consideration. First, not only how this crime is punished but also how guilty people are regarding their role in a possible abortion. Then, how women are thinking about abortion nowadays and finally, how this law has changed through time in Chile. These issues would help to get a proper comprehension about why abortion is illegal in Chile.
This crime is punished in different ways in Chile and it has different connotations and penalties depending on the role of the person in a possible abortion. The Penal Code punishes induced abortion, and also those that were inflicted by a violent act against a woman. The person who practices the abortion with the consent of the woman is also punished. The penalty for looking an abortion is 3 to 5 years in jail and 541 days to 3 years jail time for facilitating an abortion. The Chilean law punishes every single person who acts in an abortion, but they have different penalties though.
Women and society are more opened to abortion nowadays. Different surveys have found that some Chileans believe that abortion is not justified. But, they consider abortion acceptable when the mother's life is at risk or when the baby will be born with malformations (76%). Also that abortion should be permitted in cases of rape (53%). This means that, even when the majority is against abortion, they are starting to think differently than they did in the past.
These restrictive laws in Chile have changed through the time; they were not restrictive back in old times. Therapeutic abortion was allowed by the Health Code in 1931 but it was abolished by the military dictatorship in 1989, discussing that due to advances in medicine it was "no