Throughout the 20th century, the discussion on abortion in Latin America has spurred multiple controversies which persist today primarily due to the significant role the Catholic Church plays in...Show moreThroughout the 20th century, the discussion on abortion in Latin America has spurred multiple controversies which persist today primarily due to the significant role the Catholic Church plays in the area. Despite the recent advances achieved through decriminalization, the region’s percentage of unsafe abortions is the highest in the world. Chile’s case appears particularly insightful in analyzing the discrepancy between the law and the practice of abortion reforms due to the recent evolvement of the legislative debate in September 2017. During Michelle Bachelet’s second presidency, the long-awaited Law 21.030 reversed a 28-year ban in place since Pinochet’s regime. Despite the de jure significance of the law, which formally decriminalized abortion in three specific circumstances, many legal, cultural, political and economic impediments persist to undermine the effectiveness of the law, severely affecting Chilean women’s access to safe abortion services. In this manner, women are continuously led to risk their lives by undergoing abortions in clandestine and unsafe conditions. This thesis attempts to gain a nuanced understanding of such trends. By adopting a multidisciplinary approach, this thesis presents a legal and cultural analysis of three of the main obstacles to women’s access to safe and legal abortions in Chile: the right of health providers to claim conscientious objection, the legacy of traditional gender roles and abortion stigma, and the impact of socio-economic inequality.Show less
