Contraception & Abortion: A Morning After for Chile, North Dakota

Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet has issued an executive order legalizing free “morning after” contraception to teens without parental consent.

The issue has split the ruling party in a socially conservative nation where divorce was only legalized in 2004. Supporters say the new rules will provide equal access to contraception for low-income Chilean women, according to the Santiago Times.

In North Dakota, the legislature overwhelmingly passed a “trigger ban” on abortion that would take effect the instant Roe v. Wade were overturned. A second bill, which was defeated, would have banned abortion immediately and prosecuted women for seeking the procedure, the Bismarck Tribune reports.

Sources:

“Chile’s governing coalition divides on morning after pill”
Santiago Times (Chile), January 22, 2006

“Chile to Resume Contraception Handout”
Associated Press, January 30, 2006

“North Dakota abortion ban hinges on Roe v. Wade”
Bismarck Tribune, January 26, 2007