"The law protects the life of the unborn." On Wednesday, September 20, the Constitutional Council, the body involved in drafting Chile's new constitution, adopted an article challenging access to abortion by 33 votes to 17. Dominated by representatives of the far-right Republican Party and the right, the Council began voting on the first articles on Friday, September 15. The 50-member assembly, elected on May 7, has until November 7 to submit a final text to President Gabriel Boric (left wing). Its text will replace the current 1980 constitution, inherited from Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship (1973-1990).
Since 2017, abortion has been permitted in three situations in Chile: in cases of rape, danger to the mother's life or non-viability of the fetus. In total, between 2018 and June 2023, 4,272 women had an abortion under the law, according to data from the Ministry of Health. In the case of abortion following a rape, the profile most represented is that of 13-year-old girls.
"We cannot consider that killing a human being is a right (...), the Republican camp chooses life," argued Republican advisor María de los Ángeles López on Wednesday. "It is imperative that we amend our Constitution to unequivocally and firmly enshrine the right to life from conception to its natural end," said right-wing councilor Carolina Navarrete. The support of the traditional right enabled the adoption of this article proposed by the Republican Party.
The center-left, which is in the minority, expressed its deep concern. Protecting life before birth could mean a "step backwards for women's rights," said Constitutional Councillor María Pardo. "Let's be intellectually honest because what's at stake is the lives of women and girls," she continued, referring to the lethal risk posed by clandestine abortion. The chairwoman of the expert commission that drew up the preliminary draft on which the Council's work is based, lawyer Verónica Undurraga (center-left), also expressed her "concern" on Wednesday. By recognizing the rights of the embryo, the controversial provision goes even "further than the 1980 Constitution," she said.
The text currently being drafted contrasts sharply with the previous draft of the Constitution. Drafted by a left-leaning assembly, the latter enshrined the right to abortion. But this first draft was widely rejected in the referendum held on September 4, 2022. Voters will be asked to vote on the constitution currently being drafted in another referendum on December 17.