The Senate of Argentina approved in the early hours of this Wednesday a bill that allows free access to abortion until the 14th week of gestation.
The new law represents a victory for feminist collectives after several decades of struggle and
a setback for Pope Francis in his native country
.
Argentina has thus become one of the first nations in Latin America that allows the procedure to be carried out without having to give justice, as is the case in the United States, almost all of Europe and Russia.
Women celebrate this Wednesday in Buenos Aires the approval of the law that legalizes abortion.
AP
Until now, the practice was criminalized in the country and it was only allowed in exceptional cases, cases of rape or risk to the integral health of the mother, according to a Penal Code of 1921.
Clandestine abortions have caused more than 3,000 deaths in the country since 1983, according to authorities.
Every year around 38,000 women are hospitalized for these types of procedures.
What does the new law establish
Women and other people with gender identities with the ability to gestate now have the right in Argentina to access the voluntary interruption of pregnancy
until the 14th week of gestation
.
[Latinos are bombarded with misinformation about abortion to influence their vote]
After this period, abortion will be legal only in cases of pregnancy due to rape or risk of life for the pregnant woman.
The law also authorizes the
conscientious objection of
medical professionals who do not want to participate in abortion, but provided that they quickly refer patients to other professionals who carry it out.
Health centers or establishments must respond to a request for termination of pregnancy within a maximum period of 10 calendar days.
Any conduct that hinders or delays the procedure by a public official or a health worker
will be punished with imprisonment from three months to one year
and special disqualification for twice the sentence.
A square painted green and blue
The regulation was approved with 38 votes in favor, 29 against and one abstention after a marathon session that started Tuesday afternoon and
lasted for just over 12 hours
.
Twelve of the votes in favor came from the opposition, according to the Argentine newspaper La Nación.
The Chamber of Deputies had given him a half sanction on December 11.
The Argentine Chamber of Deputies approves a bill that legalizes abortion
Dec. 12, 202000: 26
It is a measure promoted by the Government of Alberto Fernández and that
aroused a strong controversy throughout the country
.
During the debate, thousands of people with green and light blue scarves, for and against the law, gathered outside Congress waiting for the result.
"Safe, legal and free abortion is law. I promised to do so on election campaign days," the president wrote on his official Twitter social network account.
The party in the streets of people favorable to the measure, wearing the color green, lasted during the early morning.
“We conquered it.
It's law! ”It appeared on large screens in front of Congress, according to the newspaper El País.
In images released by press agencies, people are seen
hugging and crying for happiness
, many of them wearing face masks to protect themselves from the risk of coronavirus contagion, although in several cases without maintaining the recommended social distancing.
From the other side of a fence, the so -
called "blue" sector who oppose looked
desolate
screen through which they followed the historic session.
Two young anti-abortionists react to the approval of a law that decriminalizes the voluntary interruption of pregnancy in Argentina, this Wednesday in Buenos Aires.
A milestone in the history of Latin America
The legalization of abortion is a historic moment for the Latin American country, the homeland of Pope Francis, which is at the forefront in the region with regard to this social right by being one of the first to have a law that guarantees.
The others so far are
Uruguay, Cuba, Guyana, and French Guiana
.
It is also legal in
Mexico City
and in the Mexican state of
Oaxaca
.
Two women celebrate the legalization of abortion in Argentina, at dawn this Wednesday in Buenos Aires.
EFE
This is the
second time in history that a project of this type has been debated in the Argentine Congress
, after in 2018 a similar text but elaborated by a civil platform managed to be approved by the deputies but not by the Senate, during the mandate by the conservative Mauricio Macri (2015-2019).
The failures of recent years to implement a law were attributed to the strong influence of the Catholic Church on the political leadership.
What did pope francis say
It didn't take long for Francisco's words to resonate in his native country not long after the historic vote.
“Christians, like all believers, bless God for the gift of life.
To live is above all to have received life.
We are all born because someone has desired life for us, ”the pope said in a written message.
With information from EFE, AP, El País, La Nación.