Pushed through again in 1999, Clinton reversed it once more in 2000. The impact of the restriction will be global and already some family planning providers are saying they will not obey the rule. In Latin America, abortion has for long been a serious public health concern and an ideological battleground. Although its legal status varies from country to country, access is generally difficult and often impossible. Deaths from unsafe or illegal abortions are high throughout the region, particularly in Chile.
Abortion is illegal in all circumstances, including rape and incest.
But in one of its last acts, the ruling junta did away with that option in February 1990. The current president, Socialist Ricardo Lagos, promised Catholic bishops he would leave the situation untouched during his six-year term which ends in 2006. The Catholic Church is opposed to abortion and any form of contraception. In August 2000, Paulina, living in one of the sprawling working-class neighbourhoods in west Santiago, found she was pregnant for the third time, despite consistent condom use with her husband. Fearing the financial burden of a third child, she consulted her doctor, who made an appointment for her at his private practice.