Uruguay Leader Vetoes Abortion Law

Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez vetoed a law decriminalizing abortions in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, arguing it violated the right to life, the office of the presidency said on Saturday.

A doctor and center-left leader, Vazquez had repeatedly vowed to veto the easing of abortion restrictions. Congress passed the measure earlier in the week, in a rare move in predominantly Roman Catholic Latin America.

In a statement explaining the veto, Vazquez said it was more important to help women with unwanted pregnancies than to facilitate abortions for them.

"Our laws cannot ignore the reality of the existence of human life in the gestation period, as scientific evidence clearly shows," the president said.

"It's more appropriate to look for a solution based on solidarity, giving a woman the freedom to make other choices and thereby save both her and her baby," Vazquez said.

Support for the law allowing early abortions was not seen as strong enough to override the presidential veto.

Abortion is largely banned in Latin America, home to about half the world's Roman Catholics. In the region, Cuba has the most permissive laws, and Mexico City allows abortions on demand in the first trimester of pregnancy.

A congressional committee in Brazil defeated a measure to legalize the procedure earlier this year.