Abortion laws in Chile - Article Example

Abortion laws in Chile The fact that abortion does not get permitted in Chile regardless of the situation is not fair on her citizens. A look at the circumstances underlying this law, many mothers at times, lose their lives in an attempt to save a baby that cannot be saved. Up until 1931, therapeutic abortion got permitted in Chile by the health code. This got abolished in 1989 by the military dictatorship that took over the country (Barzelatto and Faundes 103). The dictatorship argued that, with the advancements in medicine, it was no longer necessary or even justifiable. This got done with the approval of two doctors. Currently in Chile, abortion gets considered illegal and has become outlined in the penal code articles. They come under the title crimes and offences against Public Morality, Family Order and Sexual integrity (Barzelatto and Faundes 83). This punishes induced abortion and abortion due to violence against a woman. The person who practices abortion with the woman’s permission also gets punished under this penal code. Several mothers, especially single mothers are continuously getting punished because of abortions that they undergo due to complications (Macklin 66). This is increasingly unfair because mothers’ human rights get neglected. This is in an attempt to ensure the right of life of the child gets observed. “Abortion in Chile is illegal with no exceptions regarding any circumstance” (Barzelatto and Faundes 29). Chile must analyze the law and structure it in a way that it shall not infringe on either the mother’s or the unborn child’s rights. The abortion law in Chile is one of the most restrictive in the world. Bills have come up with the aim to permit abortion in some cases. For example, when approved by two doctors, and it became proven that the pregnancy had risks to a mother’s life such as a fetus with low chances of survival. Another bill attempted to fight for the right of abortion in the event of rape. All these bills got rejected, and the strict rule against abortion stays standing. The senate has repeatedly voted in favor of life of the unborn child (Barzelatto and Faundes 78). The senate of Chile has rejected up to three bills that attempted to ease the country’s absolute ban on any abortion. The law on abortion came up after the discovery that did not contribute in any way to maternal health, as had earlier on been presumed. It also came to the government’s knowledge that some women lie about their reasons for abortion which leads to illegal death of the unborn child. “A Chilean study discovered that the law on abortion decreased maternal death rate by nearly 70% in the nation” (Barzelatto and Faundes 138). This supported the need for the law. It got discovered that maternal death decreased in the period after the abortion law (Macklin 104). Between 2000 and 2004, abortion was the third leading cause of maternal mortality in the country. This accounted for 12% of all maternal deaths (Mala 183). The law thus gets considered necessary to save lives in Chile. “The abortion laws in Chile have no exceptions” (Barzelatto and Faundes 29). If it gets certified that a woman has had an abortion, she is automatically liable for punishment. It applies to all circumstances whether the mother or the baby’s life are at risk. Even when abortion gets done to save a woman’s life it is still illegal in Chile. There is certainly no exception that gets allowed to bend these laws. Anyone who gets caught practicing abortion gets punished according to the penal code of abortion (Mala 92). Many young single mothers have become prosecuted in Santiago for having an abortion. Majority were domestic workers who had relocated to the city from the rural areas. They were victims because of their naivety, which led to several unwanted pregnancies (Mala 96). This situation creates serious dilemmas for both women and medical practitioners. There is increased use of contraception, and lower fertility rate. Chilean medical professionals get expected to report any illegal abortions to the authorities to assist keep the anti abortion laws. “Less than 1% of women in the hospital who have abortion however get reported” (Lawrence 102). The loopholes are both legal and clinical. Legislative provisions on medical confidentiality are contradictory. Medical personnel get expected to report possible crime to authorities. On the other hand, they legally get excused from declaring in court information they received in confidentiality from the patient. This legal conflict is difficult to bypass and poses a problem to legal enforcers (Lawrence 55). Medical personnel are also at a crossroad because circumstances arise when it is their medical obligation to save a life. They become forced to carry out abortions sometimes when the life of mother’s are at risk, and the baby has no chances of survival. This creates a dilemma because in such circumstances whichever way they go they break a law. There have been no revolutions on the abortion laws in Chile so far because the public is largely divided. Within the government, more people support the law and those that are against it become outnumbered (Mala 62). The public are also split up into those who support the law absolutely, those against it completely, and those who believe that if the law gets adjusted to accommodate some instances then it would be a good law for the nation. Women who get affected by these laws are either in prison or too scared to reveal themselves for fear of persecution. The law also gets argued from the pro life point of view. This means that abortion gets viewed as murder and punished as so. The proposers of the law argue that this law protects human life. “This is a basic right for every human being” (Barzelatto and Faundes 133). Those against the law argue that the law does not consider the emotional or physical wellbeing of the mother. In cases of ectopic pregnancy, children with fatal deformities, or where the pregnancy strikes as a health risk to the mother; the law overrides the rights of the mother. These are also crucial and basic human rights defined by the same Chilean law (Macklin 124). Many uprisings against this law have failed because it has religious support. A fight against the law comes out clearly as a bid to support the death of the unborn child. It is a fact that maternal condition and health has improved with the ban on abortion. “Only 26% of Chileans believe that abortion is justified” (Lawrence 168). This is only a quarter of the population and cannot form a quorum to voice an issue and get listened to by the government. This is because they clearly get outnumbered by the rest of the population which forms a higher percentage of the population. Three quarter of women in Chile are for the idea of decriminalizing abortion when the life of a woman is at risk. More than half stated that it was urgent to legislate the matter. Three quarter again believe that abortion should become allowed in the events of rape and fetal abnormality (Lawrence 199). This is because of the emotional trauma that these two instances leave the women with. A child from rape is also a child that one has not planned to conceive. This may lead to the provision of a substandard life for the child, which may end up violating more human rights than what initially got intended by the abortion laws. Children with fetal abnormality are also frightfully expensive to raise and may end up passing on extremely early in life, leaving the mother with worse emotional trauma (Macklin 119). Circumstances arise when abortion would be justified, but this law does not allow for such loopholes. According to evidence from Chile, it is right to state that, the solution to the abortion law is to ease the absolute ban on abortion (Mala 101). The government should consult with medical practitioners and come up with instances that make it necessary to ease these laws. An example is a pregnancy as a result of rape. If the mother is not emotionally stable to have the child should be allowed the right to have a medical abortion. In cases of serious defects to the baby, a mother should also be allowed the right to an abortion. The economic means to raise this child may also be a problem that the law makers overrule (Lawrence 98). Doctors should be given the liberty to practice their profession without infringement by the Chilean government. If a situation can get assessed by two professional doctors who end up with a similar opinion, then abortion should be allowed. It is also absurd to force a mother to carry a fetus to term when her own life is at risk. It poses a serious risk to the mother, and many have lost their lives because of the same law that is out to protect lives. “For example, a mother who has septicemia and has began to miscarry should be granted the right to abortion” (Macklin 67). This is because either way if abortion does not get done the baby still gets miscarried, or the mother dies if the situation becomes prolonged. This is the right to proper medical care and a right to life (Macklin 23). What happens in most instances is that women prolong their conditions for so long and arrive in the hospitals at their worst conditions. This is when the doctors must do all they can to save the life. “This is simply because they fear being reported to the authorities and decide to come to the hospital when there pregnancy difficulties have become medical complications” (Lawrence 120). If the perpetrators of this law analyze the situation, it will be more than obvious that the absolute ban on abortion is not reasonable. Adjustments must be made to the law in order to make it more acceptable. It should also take into account both the mother’s and the child’s right to life. Works Cited Aníbal Faúndes, Jose S. Barzelatto. The Human Drama of Abortion. Tennessee: Vanderbilt University Press, 2006. Print Htun, Mala. Sex and the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Print Lawrence, James T. Human Rights In The Americas. New York: Nova Publishers, 2004. Print Macklin, Ruth. Ethics in Global Health. New York: OUP USA, 2012. Print Read More