Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 22 augusT 2017

Chile court rules in favor of abortion in some cases

By EVA VERGARA Those who can afford to
Associated Press sometimes seek abortions
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) in neighboring Argentina
— Chile’s Constitutional or beyond.
Court on Monday upheld “Chile has finally moved
a measure that would end one step closer to protect-
the country’s absolute ban ing the human rights of
on abortions. women and girls,” said Er-
The court’s 6-4 vote ac- ika Guevara-Rosas, Ameri-
cepted the constitutional- cas Director at Amnesty
ity of a measure to legalize International.
abortions when a wom- “This victory is testament
an’s life is in danger, when to the work of millions of
a fetus is not viable and in women across the Ameri-
cases of rape. President cas and the world who
Michelle Bachelet has said fight against draconian
she will sign the measure laws that punish women
that passed Congress this and push them to seeking
month. clandestine and danger-
It will end Chile’s stance ous abortions, putting their
as the last country in South health and lives at risk.”
America to ban abortion The bill’s passage comes
in all cases. as views continue to shift
“Today, women have on social issues once con-
won, democracy has won, A woman, her body painted with a message that reads in Spanish: “In the 21st century others sidered taboo in the heav-
all of Chile has won,” said are still making decisions about my body”, celebrates after learning that Chile’s Constitutional ily Roman Catholic nation
Bachelet, a physician and Court will uphold a measure that would end the country’s absolute ban on abortions, in Santiago, that only began to allow
former head of U.N. Wom- Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. divorce in 2004.
en. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) Congress recognized civil
Court secretary Rodrigo carrying anti-abortion hailed the court’s decision Women found guilty of unions for same-sex cou-
Pica said details of the de- banners who embraced as a “historic moment that having abortions now ples in 2015.
cision, which cannot be in tears after the decision marks a before and after face prison terms of up to Chile is one of four coun-
appealed, would be re- was announced. for Chilean women.” five years. tries that currently prohibit
leased on Aug. 28. Dem- Conservative lawmakers Chile legalized abortion Still, thousands of illegal abortion in all cases, ac-
onstrators in favor of thera- had filed an appeal with for medical reasons in abortions are performed cording to the New York-
peutic abortion celebrat- the court to halt the law, 1931, but the procedure every year. Most involve based Center for Repro-
ed outside the courtroom arguing it was unconstitu- was then banned under black-market purchases ductive Rights, though a
in the Chilean capital, tional. all circumstances in 1989 of the drug misoprostol few others have rules so re-
while opponents protest- The Chilean reproductive during the dictatorship of to end first-trimester preg- strictive that they amount
ed, including two women rights organization Miles Gen. Augusto Pinochet. nancies. to de facto bans.q

Colombia offers asylum to ousted Venezuela prosecutor

CARACAS, Venezuela Santos said Ortega is be- denounce corruption by
(AP) — ing protected by Colom- members of his inner circle.
Colombian President Juan bian authorities and if she Venezuelan Foreign Min-
Manuel Santos on Mon- chooses to request asy- ister Jorge Arreaza re-
day offered asylum to lum, he will grant it. sponded via Twitter, call-
Venezuela’s ousted chief Ortega has not spoken ing Santos’ decision “cyni-
prosecutor, who fled to since her arrival to Colom- cal” and saying Bogota
the country last week. bia’s capital. has become the center of
Luisa Ortega arrived in Co- But before leaving Ven- “conspiracy against de-
lombia on Friday with her ezuela, she said the ac- mocracy and peace in
husband German Ferrer cusations against her hus- Venezuela.”
after Venezuelan authori- band were payback for Ortega’s removal by the
ties ordered his arrest for her decision to break with pro-government constitu-
allegedly running an ex- The ousted chief prosecutor fled to Colombia with her husband President Nicolas Madu- tional assembly has been
tortion ring out of the pros- German Ferrer, on Friday, Aug. 18, 2017, a day after the Supreme ro’s increasingly authori- denounced by dozens of
ecutor’s office. Court ordered his arrest. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano) tarian government and foreign governments.q