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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Chile
Index
Chile is one of the last countries in the world that
has not
legalized divorce. A law permits marital separation under
certain
conditions, but it does not terminate the conjugal bond.
Despite
the Catholic hierarchy's opposition to the legalization of
divorce,
at least half of all Chileans apparently favor enacting
such a law
(see
table 17, Appendix). In the 1990 CEP-Adimark survey,
55.6
percent of those interviewed were in favor of legal
divorce.
The differences of opinion on divorce among various
categories
of the population are noteworthy. Support for its
legalization is
slightly stronger among men than among women. It is much
stronger
among young adults than among the middle-aged, while only
a
minority of older people support it. High-income
respondents
constitute the group most in favor, whereas lower-income
respondents largely disapprove (70.1 percent to 15.5
percent); a
small majority of those with middle and lower incomes
support
legalization. A slight majority of self-identified
Catholics are in
favor, but among practicing Catholics a majority reject
the notion.
A small majority of those who said they are Protestant
reject
legalization. This rejection is stronger among weekly
churchgoers.
Curiously, Protestants (mainly Pentecostals, who tend to
have very
traditional opinions) are closer to the positions of the
Catholic
hierarchy than are Catholic respondents.
Although Chile does not have a divorce law, a surrogate
and
well-institutionalized means of severing conjugal bonds is
the
annulment of civil marriages. Civil marriage ceremonies
are the
only legally valid ones, and couples who have church
weddings must
also marry at the civil registry. The annulment is usually
done
with the assistance of attorneys who argue that there has
been some
procedural error in the civil marriage process. It often
involves
obtaining witnesses who would attest to facts, whether
true or
false, that vitiate the original proceedings, such as
asserting
that the couple does not reside where they said they did
when they
were married. This is enough to make a case for
invalidating the
action of the civil registrar who performs the ceremony
and draws
up the papers. To a large extent, Chile's lack of a proper
divorce
law can be attributed to the ability of separated couples
to annul
their marriage following these procedures. As a result,
the
political pressure to enact a divorce law is diffused. In
1991, the
latest year for which there were published figures, there
were
5,852 marriage annulments (and 91,732 marriages) in the
country;
the number of annulments showed a steady increase over
seven years
from a level of 3,987 in 1984. The actual number of
separations of
married couples is much higher, especially among those who
lack the
means to hire the necessary annulment lawyers. New bonds
are often
established outside of wedlock.
Whereas the Chilean public seems somewhat favorably
inclined
toward the legalization of divorce, it shows considerable
resistance to legal abortion. Although survey results
vary,
according to the way questions on abortion are posed, the
notion of
permitting abortion on demand has only a small proportion
of
supporters. It varied from 5 percent in the CEP-Adimark
December
1990 survey to a high of 22.4 percent in the July 1991
survey
conducted by the Center for Contemporary Reality Studies
(Centro de
Estudios de la Realidad Contemporánea--CERC). However, a
relatively
large proportion of survey respondents favored abortion
under
certain circumstances. The CERC survey of July 1991 showed
that 76
percent considered abortion permissible when "the mother's
life is
in danger or when the baby will be born with
malformations";
similarly, 53.4 percent thought that abortion should be
permitted
in cases of rape. While nearly half of all respondents
rejected
abortion in all circumstances, 44.7 percent would permit
it with
qualifications (see
table 18, Appendix).
There is a considerable degree of consensus among the
various
categories of respondents to a December 1991 CEP-Adimark
survey,
except for individuals of high socioeconomic status and
practicing
Catholics or Protestants. As on the issue of divorce, the
first
group had the most liberal views of all, with only 14
percent
agreeing with the notion that abortion should not be
permitted and
78 percent accepting it in qualified circumstances.
Practicing
Catholics rejected abortion in a somewhat greater
proportion than
the average, and they accepted it in qualified
circumstances to a
slightly lesser extent. Practicing Protestants (mainly
Pentecostals) had the most restrictive views of all: more
than 80
percent rejected abortion outright, 17.6 accepted it in
qualified
circumstances, and a tiny fraction agreed that the matter
should be
left up to the individual woman. Although illegal,
abortions are
commonly performed in Chile. Social science researchers
have
estimated that about a third of all Chilean women have one
or more
induced abortions during their childbearing years.
Birth control methods of all types find broad
acceptance among
the population. This is true even of practicing Catholics,
81.3
percent of whom found their use acceptable. National
health
programs have facilitated access to birth control since
the 1960s,
and the use of contraceptives is widespread. However,
these
programs provide easy access to birth control only to
women who
have already had at least one child because the programs
are mainly
organized to provide prenatal and postpartum primary care.
Birth
control is therefore more difficult to obtain for
childless women,
especially younger and poorer women. Thus first
pregnancies out of
wedlock as well as first marriages of pregnant brides are
frequent.
This differential in contraceptive practices is largely
responsible
for the fact that the proportion of births out of wedlock
over the
total number of births increased with the overall decline
in the
birth rate (see
table 19, Appendix). The number of births
in
wedlock has fallen almost by half since the initiation of
the
contraception programs, while the births out of wedlock
have
remained fairly constant. This means that currently a
third of all
births are out of wedlock, up from 17.5 percent in 1965.
Premarital sex among couples in love with each other is
also
broadly accepted, except among practicing Protestants,
only 40
percent of whom approved, and among those age fifty-five
and older,
only 39 percent of whom approved. Sixty-three percent of
practicing
Catholics accepted this practice, despite the strong
disapproval of
the church hierarchy. On this issue, practicing
Protestants again
are closer to the Catholic hierarchy's teachings than are
lay
Catholics themselves. The acceptance of premarital
relations
compounds the problems caused by the relatively more
difficult
access to birth control for childless women.
Data as of March 1994
Divorce, Abortion, and Contraception
Chile is one of the last countries in the world that
has not
legalized divorce. A law permits marital separation under
certain
conditions, but it does not terminate the conjugal bond.
Despite
the Catholic hierarchy's opposition to the legalization of
divorce,
at least half of all Chileans apparently favor enacting
such a law
(see
table 17, Appendix). In the 1990 CEP-Adimark survey,
55.6
percent of those interviewed were in favor of legal
divorce.
The differences of opinion on divorce among various
categories
of the population are noteworthy. Support for its
legalization is
slightly stronger among men than among women. It is much
stronger
among young adults than among the middle-aged, while only
a
minority of older people support it. High-income
respondents
constitute the group most in favor, whereas lower-income
respondents largely disapprove (70.1 percent to 15.5
percent); a
small majority of those with middle and lower incomes
support
legalization. A slight majority of self-identified
Catholics are in
favor, but among practicing Catholics a majority reject
the notion.
A small majority of those who said they are Protestant
reject
legalization. This rejection is stronger among weekly
churchgoers.
Curiously, Protestants (mainly Pentecostals, who tend to
have very
traditional opinions) are closer to the positions of the
Catholic
hierarchy than are Catholic respondents.
Although Chile does not have a divorce law, a surrogate
and
well-institutionalized means of severing conjugal bonds is
the
annulment of civil marriages. Civil marriage ceremonies
are the
only legally valid ones, and couples who have church
weddings must
also marry at the civil registry. The annulment is usually
done
with the assistance of attorneys who argue that there has
been some
procedural error in the civil marriage process. It often
involves
obtaining witnesses who would attest to facts, whether
true or
false, that vitiate the original proceedings, such as
asserting
that the couple does not reside where they said they did
when they
were married. This is enough to make a case for
invalidating the
action of the civil registrar who performs the ceremony
and draws
up the papers. To a large extent, Chile's lack of a proper
divorce
law can be attributed to the ability of separated couples
to annul
their marriage following these procedures. As a result,
the
political pressure to enact a divorce law is diffused. In
1991, the
latest year for which there were published figures, there
were
5,852 marriage annulments (and 91,732 marriages) in the
country;
the number of annulments showed a steady increase over
seven years
from a level of 3,987 in 1984. The actual number of
separations of
married couples is much higher, especially among those who
lack the
means to hire the necessary annulment lawyers. New bonds
are often
established outside of wedlock.
Whereas the Chilean public seems somewhat favorably
inclined
toward the legalization of divorce, it shows considerable
resistance to legal abortion. Although survey results
vary,
according to the way questions on abortion are posed, the
notion of
permitting abortion on demand has only a small proportion
of
supporters. It varied from 5 percent in the CEP-Adimark
December
1990 survey to a high of 22.4 percent in the July 1991
survey
conducted by the Center for Contemporary Reality Studies
(Centro de
Estudios de la Realidad Contemporánea--CERC). However, a
relatively
large proportion of survey respondents favored abortion
under
certain circumstances. The CERC survey of July 1991 showed
that 76
percent considered abortion permissible when "the mother's
life is
in danger or when the baby will be born with
malformations";
similarly, 53.4 percent thought that abortion should be
permitted
in cases of rape. While nearly half of all respondents
rejected
abortion in all circumstances, 44.7 percent would permit
it with
qualifications (see
table 18, Appendix).
There is a considerable degree of consensus among the
various
categories of respondents to a December 1991 CEP-Adimark
survey,
except for individuals of high socioeconomic status and
practicing
Catholics or Protestants. As on the issue of divorce, the
first
group had the most liberal views of all, with only 14
percent
agreeing with the notion that abortion should not be
permitted and
78 percent accepting it in qualified circumstances.
Practicing
Catholics rejected abortion in a somewhat greater
proportion than
the average, and they accepted it in qualified
circumstances to a
slightly lesser extent. Practicing Protestants (mainly
Pentecostals) had the most restrictive views of all: more
than 80
percent rejected abortion outright, 17.6 accepted it in
qualified
circumstances, and a tiny fraction agreed that the matter
should be
left up to the individual woman. Although illegal,
abortions are
commonly performed in Chile. Social science researchers
have
estimated that about a third of all Chilean women have one
or more
induced abortions during their childbearing years.
Birth control methods of all types find broad
acceptance among
the population. This is true even of practicing Catholics,
81.3
percent of whom found their use acceptable. National
health
programs have facilitated access to birth control since
the 1960s,
and the use of contraceptives is widespread. However,
these
programs provide easy access to birth control only to
women who
have already had at least one child because the programs
are mainly
organized to provide prenatal and postpartum primary care.
Birth
control is therefore more difficult to obtain for
childless women,
especially younger and poorer women. Thus first
pregnancies out of
wedlock as well as first marriages of pregnant brides are
frequent.
This differential in contraceptive practices is largely
responsible
for the fact that the proportion of births out of wedlock
over the
total number of births increased with the overall decline
in the
birth rate (see
table 19, Appendix). The number of births
in
wedlock has fallen almost by half since the initiation of
the
contraception programs, while the births out of wedlock
have
remained fairly constant. This means that currently a
third of all
births are out of wedlock, up from 17.5 percent in 1965.
Premarital sex among couples in love with each other is
also
broadly accepted, except among practicing Protestants,
only 40
percent of whom approved, and among those age fifty-five
and older,
only 39 percent of whom approved. Sixty-three percent of
practicing
Catholics accepted this practice, despite the strong
disapproval of
the church hierarchy. On this issue, practicing
Protestants again
are closer to the Catholic hierarchy's teachings than are
lay
Catholics themselves. The acceptance of premarital
relations
compounds the problems caused by the relatively more
difficult
access to birth control for childless women.
Data as of March 1994
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