The start of 2021 is marked by excellent news: voluntary termination of pregnancy (abortion) is now authorized in Argentina. This Wednesday, December 30, 2020, Argentine senators adopted a law that makes abortion legal and free throughout the country.
And this is a real step forward. Because, since 1921, abortion was only authorized in Argentina in the event of rape or danger to the life of the woman. In all other cases, this act was considered a crime by the Penal Code of this ultra-Catholic country: thus, a woman who did so risked between 1 and 4 years in prison. Doctors (as well as relatives) who helped him in his process could face up to 6 years in prison.
Results : each year, between 370,000 and 520,000 women in Argentina were forced to abort clandestinely … These illegal (and dangerous!) abortions were responsible for about 38,000 hospitalizations per year.
In Argentina, abortion is legal, free and accessible from 16 years old
Today, abortion is therefore legal in Argentina. It is intended for women aged 16 and over, up to 14 weeks of pregnancy (this is more than in France, where abortion is legal up to 12 weeks), without conditions. Transgender men can also benefit. After the request for an abortion, the act must be performed within a maximum of 10 days. Abortion is free and offered in public and private hospitals.
However, the law includes the possibility for doctors or health establishments to assert their “conscientious objection”: this allows them to refuse to perform an abortion, but they are then obliged to redirect the procedure. pregnant woman to an establishment / professional capable of performing an abortion.
“It is not a question of promoting abortion, but of guaranteeing a legal and sanitary framework so that it can happen while respecting women’s health.“analysis Maricel Rodriguez Blanco, doctor in sociology from the School of Higher Studies in Social Sciences and specialist in social movements in Latin America, interviewed by our colleagues from Parisian. We applaud this historic breakthrough!
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