Abortion in Uruguay

Abortion in Uruguay is legal on request before twelve weeks of gestation, after a five-day reflection period.[1] Abortion has been legalized in Uruguay since 2012. Uruguay is one of only four countries in South America where abortion is legal on request; the other three are Argentina, Guyana and Colombia.

## Legislation

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Prior to legalization, the punishment for having an abortion was 3 to 12 months in prison, while performing an abortion was punishable by 6 to 24 months in prison.[2] A judge could mitigate the pregnant woman's sentence in certain circumstances. These included economic hardship, risk for the woman's life, rape, or family honor.[3]

On November 11, 2008, the Senate voted 17 to 13 to support a bill which decriminalized abortion.[4] This bill was vetoed by President Tabaré Vázquez on November 14 of the same year.[5]

In December 2011, the Senate voted 17 to 14 to support a bill which would decriminalize abortion in their country. The bill would allow abortion after 12 weeks (fetal age 10 weeks) in cases of rape or incest.[6] President Jose Mujica has said he would sign the bill if it passed the Chamber of Deputies.[7] The Chamber of Deputies later passed the bill.

## Abortion methods and results

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Before abortion was legalized, Uruguay's women suffered 20,000 hospitalizations because of unsafe abortion every year, until a harm reduction strategy was adopted to enable women to initiate medical abortion at home[citation needed]. Medical abortion is non-surgical, so it does not introduce instruments into the womb; danger of infection from septic abortion is therefore much lower.[8]

## History

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Abortion was made illegal in Uruguay in 1938. Many women and girls died every year from complications of unsafe abortions. In 2004, a team of professionals including gynecologists, midwives, psychologists, nurses and social workers founded a group called Iniciativas Sanitarias ("Health Initiatives"). As part of a larger goal to promote sexual rights and abortion as a "human right", they focused on unintended or "unwanted" pregnancies and their consequences.[9] They say that women should not have to pay for abortion of the unborn child's life with their own lives, and that pregnant women have a right to health information and emotional support, as well as post-abortion medical care. Their group aims to provide both respect and confidentiality.[8]

In 2012, Uruguay decriminalized abortion. While a number of politicians and advocacy groups protested its legalization, in 2013, they failed to muster the required support for a national referendum to settle the matter,[10] and the political positions are varied, with leaders from all the parties that think differently.[11] This debate is found throughout Latin America and is reflected in the countries' diverse policies on abortion and reproductive healthcare. The same "Pro-vida" movements and "Marea Verde" movements are found throughout the region as well.[12]

## See also

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* Abortion law
* Reproductive rights in Latin America

## References

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1. ^ "La ley y su implementación".
2. ^ "Uruguayan Ministers, Public Figures Join Internet Campaign to Legalize Abortion". Archived from the original on 2008-12-27. Retrieved 2008-12-27.
3. ^ "Abortion in Uruguay - Law in force". Archived from the original on 2009-01-02. Retrieved 2008-12-27.
4. ^ "Breaking News, World News and Video from al Jazeera".
5. ^ "Uruguay head vetoes abortion bill". 2008-11-14. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
6. ^ http://www.tt.com/csp/cms/sites/tt/Nachrichten/4055631-2/uruguays-senat-billigte-abtreibung-in-ersten-zwölf-wochen.csp [dead link]
7. ^ "Uruguay Senate votes to decriminalise abortion". BBC News. 2011-12-28. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
8. ^ a b "Eliminating Maternal Deaths from Unsafe Abortion in Uruguay: The experience of Iniciativas Sanitarias". United Nations Population Fund. 2011-08-18. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
9. ^ "Eliminating Maternal Deaths from Unsafe Abortion in Uruguay". www.unfpa.org. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
10. ^ "Reserved diagnosis". Brecha. 8 March 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
11. ^ "Like giving birth". Brecha. 5 April 2013.
12. ^ "Latin America and the Caribbean". Center for Reproductive Rights. 2023-11-08. Retrieved 2023-11-13.

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