Chile took a major step towards ending its total ban on abortion Wednesday, as the senate in the socially conservative country agreed to decriminalize the procedure in certain cases.

The measure, supported by President Michelle Bachelet, allows abortion in cases of rape, if the mother's life is at risk, or if the fetus presents a deadly birth defect.

After hours of tense debate and more than two years in the making, the senators approved the proposal by voting separately on each measure.

The country had been part of a small group of socially conservative nations that banned abortion under all circumstances -- including the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Gabon, Haiti, Malta, Nicaragua, the Philippines and Senegal.

During the debate in Chile's senate, police were called in to remove religious activists, most of them youths, from the chamber because they kept interrupting debate with anti-abortion chants and protest signs.

"Human beings have dignity just by existing," one sign read.

Another woman held up a poster reading "Turn to Christ" and cried out "Return to the Lord!" as she was led out.

A group of women clapped and chanted, "We women decide."

Chilean conservatives have rallied against the abortion bill ever since Bachelet introduced it in January 2015.

Nevertheless, polls show that 70 percent of Chileans support legalized abortion under the three conditions introduced in the senate.

Chile had permitted abortion for more than 50 years -- only if the mother's life was in danger or if the fetus was not viable -- until it was strictly outlawed in 1989 during the final days of the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship.

Under current law, abortion is punishable by up to five years in prison.

The abortion measure still needs approval by the lower house Chamber of Deputies to be signed into law by Bachelet, a pediatrician who returned to office in March 2014 after serving as Chile's first woman president from 2006 to 2010.

- Police kick out protesters -

"It's a great contribution to the history of Chile," Claudia Dides, spokeswoman for the Miles Foundation reproductive rights group, said after the vote.

"I think our girls, our teenagers and women will wake up happy today, feeling confident that they'll be able to decide every day of their lives."

Supporters of the measure who had gathered outside Congress clapped and cheered when news broke that it had been approved.

Debate, however, continues over the details, such as what role parents will play in the case of pregnant minors.

The senate vote comes ahead of November presidential elections in which Bachelet will not be a candidate. 

The president said that she will make the measure's approval and full implementation a priority before she leaves office in March 2018.

"It's an act of cruelty to not allow women to decide," Senator Guido Girardi said during the debate.

Conservative Senator Ena Von Baer warned that she would send the measure to the country's Constitutional Tribunal for review, claiming that it denies protection to unborn children.

Lawmakers from Bachelet's Socialist party have tried in the past to introduce abortion bills, but they have always been voted down by the legislature.

Bachelet, who was a senior United Nations official working on female empowerment issues after her first term in office, has seen her support wane due to administration scandals.

Opinion polls show that in November, voters will likely re-elect conservative former president Sebastian Pinera.

Source: AFP