Argentina continues to fight to legalize abortion

Argentina’s battle for abortion rights reached a new boiling point in March when the country’s president, Alberto Fernández, announced a bill to decriminalize abortion — a bill he had promised to introduce during his presidential campaign. Fernández’s bill — which he introduced on March 1, the start of the nation’s legislative session — categorizes abortion as a public health issue, and also includes measures to improve sexual education and a pregnancy prevention initiative, according to U.S. News & World Report.

This announcement comes after years of activists’ efforts calling for abortion legalization in the country. Currently, abortions are allowed in Argentina only in cases of rape or if the pregnancy poses a risk to the pregnant individual’s health. This is the case in most Latin American countries — according to the Center for Reproductive Rights, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Suriname ban the practice altogether. Countries categorized under “to save the woman’s life” and “to preserve health” include Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Chile. But even in countries that have legalized abortion, or allowed it in certain circumstances, access is still not guaranteed due to fear of repercussions from the public, officials, and religious leaders.

One such case involving doctor refusal occurred in Argentina in February 2019, when an 11-year-old rape victim sought an abortion to terminate a pregnancy caused by her grandmother’s boyfriend. Due to guardian consent issues and hesitance from doctors to perform the procedure, the victim endured a C-section at 23 weeks, five weeks after her request.

Just two years ago, Argentine activists came close to legislative victory on abortion rights. A bill that would have legalized abortions for pregnancies up to 14 weeks passed the lower house, but the Senate narrowly rejected it in light of an influential protest campaign held by the Roman Catholic Church. Unlike current President Alberto Fernández, then-president Mauricio Macri staunchly opposed efforts to legalize abortion, but Macri still encouraged a mature conversation on the topic and invited others to vote as they felt compelled to.

While that bill ultimately failed, it sparked a social movement known as the “green wave,” which spilled into other Latin American countries such as Uruguay, Mexico, Peru, and Chile — which had passed legislation to loosen abortion restrictions in 2017. In Santiago, hoards of green-clothed bill proponents assembled at the Argentine embassy in support, according to The New York Times.

The green wave movement has lived on. On March 8, International Women’s Day, waves of activists dressed in green and blue gathered in response to the bill announcement. Green handkerchiefs, scarves, and clothing have become synonymous with the abortion rights movement, while blue has been adopted by anti-abortion activists.

In protest of the bill, anti-abortion individuals participated in a Mass in front of the Basilica of Luján, considered “the heart of Catholicism in Argentina,” according to Buenos Aires Times. The anti-abortion group’s slogan of choice translates to “Yes to Women, Yes to Life,” which ties in with the celebration of International Women’s Day. That same day, a demonstration in favor of the bill occurred in front of the Cathedral of Buenos Aires, where slogans and chants permeated the space. One such chant called for the separation of church and state, which has been a major point in abortion advocates’ agenda.

President Fernández’s new bill ignited a resurgence in efforts on both sides of this movement. Fernández is the first president to support the legalization of abortion — meaning the abortion rights activists have gained a new ally. However, as the birthplace of Pope Francis, Argentina is known as a stronghold of Catholicism, and anti-abortion activists have maintained momentum over the years.

The roots of the abortion debate in the country can be traced back to a feminist movement formed in 2015 to protest violence against women, or femicide. The movement called Ni Una Menos or Not One Less grew out of the death of Chiara Páez, a pregnant 14-year-old girl beaten to death and later found buried at her boyfriend’s house. A tweet from journalist Marcela Ojeda in response to that incident launched a public outcry, which culminated in a rally against such violence.

The Ni Una Menos movement succeeded in creating a largely unprecedented space for Argentine citizens to feel empowered to advocate for women’s issues in a country where many topics related to those issues have long remained taboo — including violence against women. According to the Argentine government, there were 245 femicides between January and November 2017.

The movement eventually broadened its scope to tackle other issues related to women’s safety, including the right to an abortion. According to 2019 BBC News coverage, Argentine officials claimed illegal abortions topped the leading causes of maternal fatalities in the country that year.

If Argentina adopts and passes abortion legalization legislation, it will become only the fourth country in Latin America to do so.

President Fernández’s support reveals a changing perspective that steers toward a clear separation of church and state, but the future of his proposed legislation is still unclear. However, the move is seen as a step forward regardless of the outcome. Mariela Belski, executive director at Amnistía Internacional Argentina (Amnesty International Argentina), a global organization dedicated to protecting human rights, shared with the Washington Post that while it is difficult to tell whether the bill will ultimately pass, the legislation is an “advance, both in individual liberties and in access to women’s health in Argentina.”