On Monday July 4th,Chile’s constitutional assembly presented its proposed new legal code to President Gabriel Boric at a ceremony in Santiago. According to newswebsite Crux, Chile’s Catholic bishops have praised the new constitution and its “commitment to the common good” but strenuously objected to the liberalization of abortion and opening the door to the legalization of euthanasia.
The prelates gathered throughout the week to reflect on the drafted constitution, and they praised several aspects of the document, including “the commitment to guarantee a wide range of fundamental, human and social rights, such as education, work, decent housing, property, health and integral wellbeing, equality and non-discrimination, and security,” for all, including the country’s Indigenous populations.
Regarding the right to assisted suicide and euthanasia, the bishops wrote that “it is an ambiguous right, because it aims to solve a problem by deliberately ending a human life. Here lies its dehumanizing character, because it encourages a throwaway culture and can make the lives of people already weakened by illness even more fragile.”
Read more
- Chile’s bishops object to draft constitution over abortion, euthanasia | Crux (cruxnow.com)
- Chile proposes new constitution steeped in science (nature.com)
- Chile Finalizes New Constitution, but Passage Is Uncertain | Time
- Will the 2020 Constitutional Referendum Change Chile? | Time
- Chile’s Constitutional Assembly presents proposal for new constitution to Chilean president – CNN
- Chile’s Proposed New Constitution Unveiled Ahead of September Referendum (foreignpolicy.com)
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