NEWS
CEDAW Committee Expresses Concern about Chile’s Restrictive Abortion Law
September 2006
This month the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, in its review of Chile’s compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), voiced concern about Chile’s restrictive abortion law.
In its Concluding Observations, the Committee stated its concern that Chile’s abortion law—which criminalizes abortion under all circumstances—"may lead women to seek unsafe, illegal abortions, with consequent risks to their life and health." The Committee further noted that clandestine abortions are a leading cause of maternal mortality in Chile. The Committee encouraged the Chilean government to remove punitive provisions for women who undergo abortion, and to ensure that women have access to quality reproductive health services in order to treat complications arising from unsafe abortion.
The Center is pleased that the Committee raised these important issues in its Concluding Observations, and hopes that the Chilean government will take immediate steps to implement the Committee's recommendations.
PUBLICATIONS
Reports
Women Behind Bars: Chile’s Abortion Laws – A Human Rights Analysis.
In Chile, abortion is absolutely prohibited. It is not even available to save the life of the pregnant woman. Using information contained in court records, this report documents and profiles women, abortion providers, and other "accomplices" who were prosecuted for abortion in Chile. It also examines the legal framework of Chile’s abortion laws, as well as the criminal procedure that is involved in these prosecutions.
Mas allá del derecho. Justicia y género en América Latina
(available in Spanish only). This book is the first publication of the Red Alas network, a Latin American network of law professors that aims to reform legal education in the region from a gender perspective. The Center for Reproductive Rights supports and is a part of this network.
Read the Chile chapter from 
Bodies on Trial: Reproductive Rights in Latin American Courts
Women of the World: Laws and Policies Affecting Their Reproductive Lives -- Latin America and the Caribbean
Briefing Papers
Shadow Reports
Organizations like the Center for Reproductive Rights and its partners play an essential role in providing credible and reliable independent information to international human rights treaty monitoring bodies regarding the legal status and real-life situation of women and the efforts being made by governments to comply with human rights treaties. Shadow reports work to supplement, or "shadow," governments' reports on human rights issues by calling attention to their strides, as well as their setbacks.
Regional Partner Organizations
