Uruguay’s president, Tabare Vazquez, vetoed a bill that would have legalised abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy.
Between 1947 (when abortion was legalised) and 1957, the birth rate was cut in half due to abortions.
Its social conservatism has limited its appeal in cosmopolitan Mexico City, where the mayor, the PRD’s Marcelo Ebrard, has legalised gay adoption.
The decision suggests that, although the court continues to uphold the central principle of Roe v Wade, which legalised abortion in 1973, it favours more restrictions.
