November 16, 2008 [LINK / comment]
Abortion issue divides Uruguay
Only a couple days after the Uruguayan Senate passed a bill decriminalizing abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, President Tabare Vazquez vetoed the measure, citing philosophical and scientific grounds. Historically, abortion has been taboo in the predominantly Catholic nations of Latin America. Throughout the region, aside from Cuba and Mexico City, abortion is outlawed except in extreme circumstances. Public opinion in Uruguay favors loosening the restrictions on abortion, but it's uncertain if that sentiment is strong enough to prevail against the fierce opposition of the Catholic Church. See BBC.
Whatever one thinks about abortion, at least in Uruguay they are handling this ultra-sensitive matter the right way -- in the legislative and executive branches that set national policy, rather than in the courts, which have improperly intruded upon that role in the United States, e.g., with Roe v. Wade.