Montevideo, Uruguay, Nov 7, 2007 / 10:08 am
The Uruguayan Senate on Tuesday approved a measure to expand access to abortion by a vote of 18-13.
President Tavare Vazquez has repeatedly promised to veto the bill. If the bill is ratified, it will become the first national legislation in Latin America, outside of Cuba, to codify into law a right to abortion.
The legislation was voted down three weeks ago in a tie 15-15 vote, when the alternates of two absent senators either voted against it or abstained.
The law would establish a right to legal abortion during the first three months of pregnancy for virtually any reason. In the remaining two trimesters, it will permit abortion in cases of fetal deformity or threats to the mother's life.