Chileans to vote on conservative constitution draft a year after rejecting leftist charter

By MARÍA VERZA and PATRICIA LUNA
Associated Press

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chileans are voting on whether to approve a new constitution that will replace the country’s dictatorship-era charter. In September 2022 voters resoundingly rejected a proposed constitution that had been written by a left-leaning convention. The new document up for approval Sunday was largely written by conservative councilors, and some warn it goes to the other extreme. One of the most controversial articles in the proposed new document says that “the law protects the life of the unborn,” which some warn could make abortion fully illegal in the South American country. Chilean law currently allows exemptions in cases of rape, a non-viable fetus or risks to the mother’s health.