Uruguay takes historic step legalizing abortion
Associated Press
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Updated 3:34 p.m., Wednesday, October 17, 2012
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Uruguay's Senate voted to legalize first-trimester abortions for all women Wednesday in a groundbreaking measure that came with so many strings attached it left neither side in the bitter debate completely satisfied. The legislation establishes that the public health care system must guarantee every woman the freedom to decide without pressure whether or not to have an abortion. The law requires a woman seeking an abortion to first explain her situation to a review panel made up of a gynecologist, a mental health expert and a social worker. "The interdisciplinary panel must create an atmosphere of psychological and social support for the woman to enable her to overcome the causes that led her to want to abort the pregnancy and guarantee that she makes a conscious and responsible decision," the measure says. [...] its implementation will have to be monitored, to make sure it's applied in all the hospitals, said Romina Napiloti, a 27-year-old sociologist and abortion rights activist who watched the vote from the Senate gallery. Institutions such as Uruguay's extensive Roman Catholic and evangelical hospital networks can opt out as well, but only if they make agreements with other institutions such as the public health care system so that any of their patients can get abortions elsewhere. Maria Jose Del Campo, a 37-year-old engineer who was part of an anti-abortion group in the Senate gallery, said what's missing in Uruguay is government support for women so that they don't find themselves in situations where abortion seems the best alternative. "The real problem is to provide support and alternatives to this woman who ended up pregnant," she said, citing long-stuck proposals in Congress to provide for more flexible workplace rules for pregnant women, such as job-sharing and government-paid maternity leave. Reported by SeattlePI.com 4 hours ago.
Associated Press
Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Updated 3:34 p.m., Wednesday, October 17, 2012
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Uruguay's Senate voted to legalize first-trimester abortions for all women Wednesday in a groundbreaking measure that came with so many strings attached it left neither side in the bitter debate completely satisfied. The legislation establishes that the public health care system must guarantee every woman the freedom to decide without pressure whether or not to have an abortion. The law requires a woman seeking an abortion to first explain her situation to a review panel made up of a gynecologist, a mental health expert and a social worker. "The interdisciplinary panel must create an atmosphere of psychological and social support for the woman to enable her to overcome the causes that led her to want to abort the pregnancy and guarantee that she makes a conscious and responsible decision," the measure says. [...] its implementation will have to be monitored, to make sure it's applied in all the hospitals, said Romina Napiloti, a 27-year-old sociologist and abortion rights activist who watched the vote from the Senate gallery. Institutions such as Uruguay's extensive Roman Catholic and evangelical hospital networks can opt out as well, but only if they make agreements with other institutions such as the public health care system so that any of their patients can get abortions elsewhere. Maria Jose Del Campo, a 37-year-old engineer who was part of an anti-abortion group in the Senate gallery, said what's missing in Uruguay is government support for women so that they don't find themselves in situations where abortion seems the best alternative. "The real problem is to provide support and alternatives to this woman who ended up pregnant," she said, citing long-stuck proposals in Congress to provide for more flexible workplace rules for pregnant women, such as job-sharing and government-paid maternity leave. Reported by SeattlePI.com 4 hours ago.