Pending challenges in the implementation of Law 21.030 of Chile, which decriminalized the voluntary interruption of pregnancy

Abstract

The Law 21.030 which decriminalizes the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy under 3 Causes, was approved in Chile, past 23 September 2017. It was promulgated near the end of the President Michel Bachelet’s government. The subsequent installation stages of the Law require at least 2 years. Therefore, the Government of President Piñera, who won the national elections last December 2017, have to implement this Law, despite he openly opposed the law during his presidential campaign.
This article reviews the steps forward in order to achieve a successful implementation of the Law 21,020, namely: i) to have the final regulatory documents (which should follow strictly the Law) done; ii) to continue with the training of the health teams in charge of delivering the services in the public system); iii) to develop information channels towards the citizens about the ways to access the services and benefits guaranteed in the law; iv) to begin the installation processes of the relevant services in the private sector, in a regulated and informed way