MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) - Senators in Uruguay were preparing for a final debate Wednesday on legalizing abortion, a groundbreaking step in Latin America.

The proposed law has already been passed in the Senate, but changes in Uruguay's lower house have forced another vote on the measure, which President Jose Mujica says he'll sign.

Cuba is the only other country in the region where all women have access to first-trimester abortions.

Uruguay's measure would decriminalize abortions but require women to justify themselves before a panel of experts and wait five days before confirming they want to go ahead with the procedure.

It also decriminalizes late-term abortions when the mother's life is at risk or the fetus is deformed.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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