The Senate narrowly passed a bill on Wednesday that would legalize abortion when a woman's life is in danger, when a fetus is unviable or when a pregnancy results from rape. SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chile's Chamber of Deputies fell one vote short of passing the Senate version of a bill easing the country's strict abortion law, a surprise setback to President Michelle Bachelet and abortion rights advocates. Conservative lawmakers are hoping the Constitutional Tribunal, which has eight male and two female judges, will find that the law is at odds with a provision of Chile’s Constitution that protects the life of the unborn. Chile legalized abortion for medical reasons in 1931, but the procedure was then banned under all circumstances during the 1973-1990 dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet.
Chilean lawmakers have approved a bill that would legalize abortion in limited circumstances and end the socially conservative country's status as the last in South America with a blanket ban on the procedure.