Women's Health
Concern over high maternal mortality rates resulting from illegal abortion lead the Chilean government to launch a publicly-funded family planning program in 1964. Deaths due to illegal abortions dropped from 118 to 24 per 100,000 live births between 1964 and 1979.
There was also a statistically significant decrease in maternal deaths due to abortion from 1990 to 2000. Experts attribute the decline in hospitalizations due to abortion during this period to the increased use of sterilization and antibiotics by illegal abortion providers, the increased availability of the abortifacient drug misoprostol, and the increased use of contraception.
In the period 2000 to 2004, abortion was the third leading cause of maternal mortality in the country, accounting for 12% of all maternal deaths. While there are no accurate statistics, it is estimated that between 2000 and 2002 there were between 132,000 and 160,000 abortions in the country.
A 1997 study found that the majority of eighty women prosecuted in Santiago for having an abortion were young, single mothers, and that many were domestic workers who had moved to the city from rural areas. It also found most of the women were reported to authorities by the hospital at which they sought treatment for their complications, and had no legal representation, or were defended by inexperienced law students.
Read more about this topic: Abortion In Chile
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