By Felipe Llambias
MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) - Uruguay's Senate passed
a bill to decriminalize abortion on Tuesday, a move that
underscores the nation's liberal stance on ethical issues in the
mainly conservative Roman Catholic region.
The bill, which is expected to pass in the lower house after
lawmakers return from recess in February, would let women have
abortions in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
It was approved in the Senate 17-14 after 10 hours of heated
debate.
"We don't have the right to pass moral judgement by saying
that the woman who continues her pregnancy and has her baby is
in the right whereas the one who doesn't, for whatever reason,
is in the wrong," said Senator Monica Xavier, a member of the
ruling leftist coalition of President Jose Mujica.
"We're not moral censors, we're congressmen," she added.
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