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Image Credit - BBC[/caption]Historic moment for Latin Americans as Argentina’s Congress has announced the legalization of abortion.
They have legalized abortion for up to the 14th week of pregnancy which is a groundbreaking moment for a region that has the world’s most restrictive termination laws.
The Senators voted in the favor of the bill. After a struggling marathon session, 38 voted in the favor of it, 29 went against it along with one abstention.
Previously abortion in this region was only allowed in the case of rape or only when there was a risk to the mother’s health.
The Chamber of Deputies has approved the bill earlier this month. However, the highly influential Catholic Church went against it and asked the Senators to reject the bill.
The pro-activists have been fighting for the bill and hope that the newly passed bill in Argentina might bring some changes to the whole Latin American region. However, they are still in doubt whether the other countries will follow the suit or not.
The mighty ‘Green Wave’ of the women protestors stood against the powerful Catholic Church of Argentina. A feminist movement that is so powerful that it could bring change to the law which has been prevailing since 1921.
What happened in Argentina will soon be followed by the activists in neighboring countries like Brazil and Chile to broaden up their reproductive rights.
President Alberto Fernández supported the bill and said, "I'm Catholic but I have to legislate for everyone."
As a matter of public health, the new bill will provide free and legal abortions for up to the 14th week of pregnancy. The President emphasized the issue by saying, "every year around 38,000 women are taken to hospital due to (clandestine) abortions and since the restoration of democracy (in 1983) more than 3,000 have died".
Right after the voting results for legalization, he tweeted, "Today, we're a better society, which widens women's rights and guarantees public health."
