Legal Abortion Bill shot down in Lower House Committee

Despite previous assurances of the contrary, the Penal Legislation Committee failed to clear the Legal Abortion Bill for debate after it being strongly criticized by several sectors in the Lower House.

The committee, led by Civic Coalition’s Carlos Vega, began debating the bill last Tuesday, which sparked a spirited discussion between those in favour and those who against it. 

The five lawmakers who expressed their support for the bill cleared it for debate so it could be passed onto other committees.

The bill would make it legal for women to have an abortion during the first three months of their pregnancy. 

However, even though the lawmakers assured that they had succeeded, the requirement for bills to be cleared in a committee is to have a half-plus-one vote, and by only having five out of the 12 lawmakers present, the bill was actually not passed.

The Legal Abortion Bill now goes back to square one.