Chilean court orders doctor to pay $100 million for denying legal abortion

A Chilean court has issued a landmark ruling in the country’s first civil lawsuit against a doctor for denying a legal abortion. The Santiago civil court ordered Dr. Eduardo Carstens to pay an indemnity of 100,275,000 pesos for failing to adhere to medical standards and obstructing a legal procedure.

The plaintiff, Catalina Pizarro, sought a voluntary interruption of pregnancy in 2018 at Clínica Tabancura due to fetal inviability following the detection of severe complications, including bilateral cervical hygroma and hydrops. The court found that the physician breached the medical services contract and provided “erroneous and distorted” information, leading to an illegal obstruction of the patient's rights. The pregnancy continued until the 20th week, resulting in fetal death and an emergency medical procedure for the patient.