Conservative Country Legalizes Abortion
Crowds gathered all over the country waited in anticipation: either the pro-choice activists would finally achieve a massive milestone, something even bigger and important considering they belong to a conservative country, or opponents of abortion and pro-lifers would maintain their stance and be able to prevent an historic moment from happening in Argentina. In the early hours of Wednesday, December 30th, 2020, a final vote decided that the pro-choicers had been heard and would get what they had been asking for: Argentina had finally become a country where abortion was legal!
As of this week, Argentinian Congress has legalised abortion in the South American country up till the fourteenth (14th) week of pregnancy. Not only will abortion till the 14th week be legal, but it will also be provided free of charge to prevent “clandestine terminations” and the thousands of consequential deaths of women who have no other choice. In addition, a “1,000-Day Plan” bill has also been approved which will provide pregnancy and postpartum health care alongside care for mothers of young children.
The Senate voted in favour of the bill with 38 favourable votes, 29 against and one abstention. The Chamber of Deputies approved the bill earlier in December 2020. Until now, Argentina had been known to have some of the most restrictive laws where abortion was only legal in cases of rape or health risk for the mother. The Catholic Church is in complete opposition of this decision and has been calling on senators to reject the bill. Fortunately for the pro-choicers, their President Alberto Fernández is inclined to the center-left.
The activists hope that as one of the most influential countries of the continent, they will be able to encourage the rest of the countries starting with Chile and Brazil to follow in their footsteps and legalize abortion. It was the feminist movement of Argentina led by their “green wave” women’s movement that was able to influence the decisionmakers into overthrowing a law that had been in place since 1921.
The woman who drafted the bill and law, Vilma Ibarra later was reported saying, “Never again will there be a woman killed in a clandestine abortion”.
Credit: Sarah Pabst/The New York Times
