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.

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.

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]

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]

• Abortion law
• Reproductive rights in Latin America