In an October 2020 plebiscite, 78% of voters approved the drafting of a new constitution to replace the constitution approved in 1980, during the military regime led by Augusto Pinochet. A constitutional convention began in July.
“A political constitution with a norm on free abortion cannot be felt and accepted as its own by many Chileans, including many people who profess a religious faith, since respect for human life from conception is not something secondary or whose consideration is optional, but it is a fundamental value that we affirm, supported by reason and faith,” the Episcopal Conference of Chile said in a Spanish-language statement. (The Fides news agency has published an English-language summary.)