Abortions grow in Uruguay, birth rate continues to fall

Montevideo, Aug 30 (Prensa Latina) Uruguay recorded in 2023 the highest number of abortions since the approval of the Law on Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy (IVE, in Spanish), enacted in 2012.

August 30, 2024
13:23

Last year there were 10,898 abortions, according to the IVE 2023 report prepared by the Public Health Ministry (MSP, in Spanish).

Out of the ratified abortions, 10,890 were for ‘own will’, four due to rape, two for risk to the woman’s health and the remaining two for fetal anomalies incompatible with life.

There were 71 consultations by minors under 15 years old and 546 by young people between 15 and 17; but the majority were concentrated in the group between 20 and 24 years old, according to the report published in El País.

In 2023, Uruguay had the lowest number of births since 1900, according to data collected by the MSP.

Preliminary results of last year’s census show a low birth rate and an aging population, which at national level does not reach three million 500 thousand inhabitants.

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