Original article: “La paciente recibe una mala noticia dos veces”: Colegio de Matronas rechaza proyecto antiaborto y acusa vulneración de derechos humanos

Chilean Midwives Association Rejects Controversial Anti-Abortion Bill, Citing Human Rights Violations

The anti-abortion bill championed by the far-right continues to spark public debate, as the Chilean Midwives Association voices its disapproval, arguing that requiring women to listen to the heartbeat of the embryo or fetus before undergoing a legal abortion is tantamount to conveying bad news to patients twice, which constitutes a violation of human rights.

The controversial initiative, titled “Listen to Its Heart,” was introduced last June by Deputy Cristóbal Urruticoechea from the National Libertarian Party, along with other lawmakers including Álvaro Jofré (PNL), Chiara Barchiesi, Catalina del Real, and Claudia Reyes (Republican Party), as well as Ximena Ossandón (National Renewal), who later withdrew her support, acknowledging it was a ‘mistake.’ The bill proposes amendments to Article 119 of the Health Code, requiring physicians to inform women of detectable embryonic or fetal cardiac activity and offer them the choice to listen to the heartbeat before an abortion. However, if the woman refuses, the healthcare professional must abstain from proceeding with the abortion.

While the Minister of Social Development, María Jesús Wulf, has refrained from commenting on the legal text and is focusing her discourse on supporting families and promoting childbirth, healthcare professionals are clearly opposing the legislation. Ximena González, the Vice President of the Midwives Association, stated that the measure “definitely violates women’s rights” and revictimizes them, expressing hope that “common sense” will prevail in Parliament to prevent the proposal from advancing.

“We believe that, aside from being unfortunate, it truly causes revictimization and demonstrates a nearly ignorant stance on the part of the authorities,” González told Diario U. de Chile.

The criticisms underscore the proposal’s ignorance of the current abortion context in the country, which is regulated under three specific circumstances: the mother’s life is at risk, lethal fetal non-viability, or pregnancy resulting from rape.

The association views the new requirement as not only unnecessary but harmful, considering that the professionals who assist these patients witness the emotional toll of terminating a pregnancy.

“For no woman, none, is the decision to proceed with an abortion an easy one (…) it does not matter if it is performed under the three legal causes or if it is spontaneous,” González emphasized, highlighting that the emotional pain persists in the subconscious of the patient indefinitely.

“The Patient Will Receive Bad News Not Once, But Twice”

The association leader further illustrated the emotional impact that the implementation of the law would have. Drawing from her experience as an ultrasound technician, she mentioned that communicating bad news, such as fetal non-viability, generates “terrible anguish” in the patient. Forcing that same woman to listen again to the heartbeat of a fetus that will not survive is, in her words, an act of “torture.”

“The patient will receive bad news not once, but twice,” she declared, emphasizing that the proposal represents a blatant revictimization of individuals already in a state of extreme vulnerability.

The Midwives Association asserts that the initiative is based on ignorance regarding the clinical and emotional realities surrounding the legal abortion causes. By ignoring the surrounding pain of each case, the legislators would be promoting a procedure that jeopardizes the mental health of women.

“We are appealing to common sense, as we hope this is understood as a violation of rights, human rights,” González stated to the cited media outlet.

Differences Within the Right

As José Antonio Kast’s government refrains from taking a clear stance on the initiative, the anti-abortion bill has sparked divisions within the right. The deputy and UDI president, Guillermo Ramírez, affirmed his stance on the defense of life, but stated that reducing abortions does not involve adding hurdles to legal causes, but rather a different approach.

“We believe the way to restrict abortion is not by this means, but by legislating for greater support. Scientific evidence from universities, institutes, and foundations shows that when women receive effective support, the abortion rate drops dramatically,” he remarked.

In that vein, he urged the government to reconsider its position and promote a state support program to prevent the “tragedy of abortion.”

In contrast, Evópoli senator Luciano Cruz-Coke expressed his rejection and questioned how the “Listen to Its Heart” project offers greater empathy to women in the specified circumstances.

“I don’t like the project; we’ve expressed this in every possible tone. I believe that when we resort to the three legal causes, there are elements that are profoundly hard for women, and precisely, this does not add any greater humanity to life,” he stated.