Matthew Malinowski, Bloomberg News
Sat Jun 1, 2024
(Bloomberg) -- Chile President Gabriel Boric said he will introduce a bill to fully legalize abortion and will also accelerate debate on a euthanasia proposal, two plans that face an uphill battle for approval in a divided Congress.
The government will submit legislation on abortion in the second half of this year, Boric said in his annual State of the Nation address given Saturday in Chile’s Congress. The administration will also apply “urgency” to an existing bill on assisted death, he said, thus granting it priority status.
“As president, I am convinced of the need for a democratic debate on the topic of sexual and reproductive rights,” Boric said, prompting a burst of cheers while, at the same time, some lawmakers left the session in protest.