Kast rules out backing bill that ties abortion access to hearing the fetal heartbeat

Chilean President José Antonio Kast announced on Monday that his administration will not support a legislative proposal introduced by members of his own coalition. The bill sought to mandate that women seeking legal abortions must listen to the fetal heartbeat as a condition for the procedure.

By declining to back the measure, the government has distanced itself from the initiative proposed by its legislative allies. The decision effectively halts the advancement of the bill within the current administration's agenda, signaling a refusal to tie existing legal abortion access to the proposed auditory requirement.