Argentina's senate approves bill to legalise abortion
Argentina has now become the fourth and largest country in Latin America to legalise abortion.
The country’s senate voted 38-29 in favour of approving a bill allowing abortion up to the 14th week of pregnancy on Tuesday.
According to BBC, a deluge of campaigners for and against abortion gathered outside congress in Buenos Aires to sway undecided senators as many others followed the debate on huge screens erected outside the vicinity.
Pro-choice groups had argued that criminalising abortion would harm women from the most vulnerable groups who they say are instead often forced to seek dangerous illegal abortions.
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On the contrary, Argentina’s Catholic Church called on the senators to reject the bill, stating that it violates the right to life.
As the vote finally ended in the early hours of Wednesday, there was heated jubilation in the pro-abortion camp.
Until now, Argentine law only allowed abortion if there’s a serious risk to the mother’s health or during rape cases.
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The bill had been approved by the chamber of deputies earlier in December after activists had campaigned against the law over the years. The passing also comes two years after senators narrowly voted against legalising abortion.
Lo hicimos, hermanas. Es ley de una vez y para siempre. Hicimos historia. Lo hicimos entre todxs. No hay palabras para este momento, nos pasa por el cuerpo y por el alma. 💚🔥 #AbortoLegal2020 pic.twitter.com/Ur3BmU4Bdm
— Mónica Macha (@MoniMacha) December 30, 2020
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Reacting to the new development, Monica Macha, a politician with President Alberto Fernandez’ centre-left ruling coalition, which was in support, tweeted: “We did it sisters. We made history. We did it together. There are no words for this moment.”
“Adopting a law that legalizes abortion in a Catholic country as big as Argentina will energize the struggle to ensure women’s rights in Latin America,” Juan Pappier, a researcher at the Human Rights Watch, was quoted as saying.
“Although there will certainly be resistance, I think it’s fair to predict that, as it occurred when Argentina legalised same-sex marriage in 2010, this new law could have a domino effect in the region.”
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