The Senate voted 38-29 to give millions of women access to legal terminations under a new law supported by President Alberto Fernández. The margin was expected to be much smaller.
Massive crowds of abortion rights activists and anti-abortion activists gathered in front of the Argentine National Congress Palace to await the results, which arrived in the early hours of the morning after an evening debate. Supporters of the bill received the news with applause – and, in some cases, tears of joy.
Gabriela Giacomelli, whose two sisters had illegal abortions, called the scene “very emotional”.
“We have been fighting for years,” said Giacomelli. “I see young people now, although I hope they never have to have an abortion, but if they do now, they can do it safely.”
Mariela Belski, executive director of Amnesty International Argentina and ambassador of the global movement for women’s rights, Ela Decide, said: “Today, Argentina has taken an emblematic step in the defense of the rights of women, girls and people with reproductive capacity”.
The law will legalize abortion in all cases up to 14 weeks of pregnancy. Abortion in Argentina, the third most populous country in South America, is currently only allowed when pregnancy results from rape or endangers the woman’s life or health.
In all other circumstances, abortion is illegal and punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
Supporters of abortion hope that Argentina’s decision will stimulate similar movements in other mainly Catholic states in Latin America.
Belski said the movement sends “a strong message of hope for our entire continent – that we can change the course against the criminalization of abortion and against illegal abortion, which poses serious risks to the health and lives of millions of people. law passed by the Argentine Congress today and the enormous effort of the women’s movement to achieve it are an inspiration for the Americas and the world ”.
In contrast, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua and Suriname prohibit abortion in almost all circumstances. Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Panama allow abortion only if it is to preserve women’s health or help save their lives.
‘Worrying numbers’
Abortion has long been a controversial issue in Argentina, and the vote galvanized activists on both sides of the debate.
Abortion rights advocates he wore green scarfs in a movement that became known as the green wave. Anti-abortion activists dressed in blue – the color of the “save the two lives” movement and the color of the national flag.
Anti-abortion activist and student Agostina López, 20, who protested the bill on Tuesday, told CNN ahead of the vote that it meant “a complete loss of values such as respect for life and women”.
“Without the right to life, none of the other rights makes sense,” said López, adding that if the law were passed, it would send a “false message that killing innocent babies is no longer a serious matter”.
Brenda Austin, one of four congressmen who introduced the 2018 bill, said she received the news Wednesday with “great emotion”, adding that the decision is a “historic debt our democracy owes to women’s rights” .
In recent months, the abortion rights movement has received a major boost with the support of President Fernández, who took power last December.
In a speech recorded shortly before his inauguration, Fernández promised to “end the criminalization of abortion”.
Wearing a green tie – a symbol of the movement for the right to abortion – Fernández said that criminalizing the procedure unfairly punishes “poor and vulnerable women”, adding that they are the “biggest victims” of the Argentine legal system.
“The criminalization of abortion was useless,” he said, noting that “it only allowed abortions to take place clandestinely in worrying numbers.”
Fernández said more than 3,000 people have died from illegal abortions since 1983. There are no official data available on how many illegal abortions occur in Argentina, but the Ministry of Health estimates that between 371,965 and 522,000 procedures are performed annually.
Citing data from the Ministry of National Health, the HRW report found that 39,025 women and girls were admitted to public hospitals for health problems resulting from miscarriages or miscarriages, and more than 6,000 were between 10 and 19 years old.
Experts say the new law will allow teenagers aged 13 to 16 with normal pregnancies to access abortion services without a guardian. Doctors will still have the option to “conscientiously object” to having abortions, although the law states that they will have to find another doctor to do so.
The project also uses inclusive language, recognizing that not all people who become pregnant identify themselves as women.
Camila Fernandez, a self-styled transgender woman who was instrumental in promoting the language of the project that says “people capable of becoming pregnant”, told CNN that young people and the LGBTQ community were instrumental in challenging a “patriarchal and centrist power adult who has perpetuated privileges and injustices. ”
“Hand in hand with trans men and non-binary people, we have won the rights that are theirs and ours today,” she said, adding that she believes the move will pave the way for further reforms for trans people who have historically been marginalized.
A divisive campaign
The abortion debate has created tension in a country with deep Catholic ties.
Argentina’s constitution consolidates government support for the Catholic Church and recognizes Roman Catholicism as an official religion. However, a 1994 amendment removed the requirement that the president be Catholic.
In November, Francisco weighed in on the debate, encouraging the anti-abortion group Mujeres de las Villas to “move forward” with his work.
In a handwritten letter addressed to congresswoman and group intermediary Victoria Morales Gorleri, Francis said that “the problem of abortion is not primarily a matter of religion, but of human ethics, above all of any religious denomination”.
“Is it fair to eliminate a human life to solve a problem? Is it fair to hire a murderer to solve a problem?” He wrote.
On Wednesday, the Senate also passed a complementary bill that will strengthen the social and economic safety net for pregnant women who face economic difficulties and wish to continue with pregnancy.
The “1,000-day plan” will strengthen services from pregnancy to the first 1,000 days of a child’s life.