Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy Bill (Argentina)
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The Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy Law ( es, Ley de Interrupción Voluntaria del Embarazo; IVE) was approved by the National Congress of
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
in 2020, legalizing
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
in
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. The first draft of the bill was created in 2006 by the National Campaign for the Right to Legal, Safe, and Free Abortion (''Campaña Nacional por el Derecho al Aborto Legal, Seguro y Gratuito''), which sought to have Congress consider it in seven different occasions, to no avail. In 2018, the bill was introduced into the legislative agenda, with the approval of then-
PRO Pro is an abbreviation meaning "professional". Pro, PRO or variants thereof may also refer to: People * Miguel Pro (1891–1927), Mexican priest * Pro Hart (1928–2006), Australian painter * Mlungisi Mdluli (born 1980), South African retired f ...
president
Mauricio Macri Mauricio Macri (; born 8 February 1959) is an Argentine businessman and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 2015 to 2019. He has been the leader of the Republican Proposal (PRO) party since its founding in 2005. He previou ...
, who was personally against it. It was approved by the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
by a 129 to 125 margin on 13 June 2018, but failed to pass the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
on 8 August 2018 by a 38 to 31 margin. In 2020, the bill was sent to Congress once again (with some modifications) by the administration of new
Justicialist Party The Justicialist Party ( es, Partido Justicialista, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism. Current president Alberto Fernández belongs to the Justicialist Party (and has, since 2021, served ...
president
Alberto Fernández Alberto Ángel Fernández (; born 2 April 1959) is an Argentine politician, lawyer and professor, serving as president of Argentina since 2019. Born in Buenos Aires, Fernández attended the University of Buenos Aires, where he earned his law ...
, who explicitly backed the initiative. It was approved by the Chamber of Deputies on 11 December by a 131 to 117 margin, and by the Senate on 30 December 2020 by a 38 to 29 margin, effectively legalizing abortion in Argentina. The law made Argentina the third (and the first major)
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
n nation to legalize abortion, after
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
and
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.


Contents

The text of the bill only uses the term "
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
" when it makes references to articles of the
penal code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...
, that would be modified. In all other cases, it uses the term "voluntary termination of pregnancy". It also makes reference to both women and people that may become pregnant, in reference to cases of
transgender pregnancy Transgender pregnancy is the gestation of one or more embryos or fetuses by transgender people. Currently, the possibility is restricted to those born with female reproductive systems, and Gender transition, transition-related treatments may impac ...
. An abortion may be performed during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, with no requirements other than the woman's desire. After that point, an abortion may be performed in the case of
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...
, risk to the life or health of the woman, or risk of
stillbirth Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The term ...
. Those three cases may allow abortion at any point of the pregnancy, even in its last stages. In the case of rape, a woman only needs to sign an oath, without needing to make a
criminal complaint In legal terminology, a complaint is any formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action) that the Filing (legal), filing party or parties (the plaintiff(s)) believes are sufficient to support a claim aga ...
. Minors do not require parental authorization to abort. There is no limit on the number of times a woman may perform abortions. Once the woman informs her desire to abort, the health-care facility has a maxium of five days to perform it. The pre-abortion interviews are restricted to information about abortion methods, and may not attempt to discourage the woman from aborting. The process must keep the identity of the woman confidential. All health-care facilities, both public and private, must guarantee to perform abortions in the time required, and for free. Judicial authorizations are not needed. Medics are allowed to claim themselves
conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
s, by signing a registry beforehand. This can only be done on a personal level, and health-care facilities are not allowed to do so, even those founded by religious organizations. The bill also instructs the establishment of
sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual acti ...
in schools and policies to prevent unwanted pregnancies. It also requires the collection of abortion-related statistics. The sanctions in the penal code remain for the cases when a medic performs an abortion without the woman's authorization. A medic that performs an abortion after the 15th week of pregnancy without it being among the accepted cases may be sentenced to prison, from three months to a year. A medic who delays, obstructs, or refuses to perform an abortion may be sentenced to prison, from six months to two years, and disqualified from legal practice of medicine for twice the length of the sentence. If this refusal led to the birth of the baby, the prison term is to be from two to five years.


Parliamentary treatment


2018 bill

President
Mauricio Macri Mauricio Macri (; born 8 February 1959) is an Argentine businessman and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 2015 to 2019. He has been the leader of the Republican Proposal (PRO) party since its founding in 2005. He previou ...
encouraged the discussion of an
abortion law Abortion laws vary widely among countries and territories, and have changed over time. Such laws range from abortion being freely available on request, to regulation or restrictions of various kinds, to outright prohibition in all circumstances ...
during the
2018 opening of regular sessions of the National Congress of Argentina The 2018 opening of regular sessions of the National Congress of Argentina took place on 1 March, 2018. It was a speech delivered by president Mauricio Macri at the National Congress of Argentina. Contents and delivery Economy Macri pointed th ...
. After some months of
abortion debate The abortion debate is a longstanding, ongoing controversy that touches on the moral, legal, medical, and religious aspects of induced abortion. In English-speaking countries, the debate most visibly polarizes around adherents of the self-describ ...
in the media, the bill was approved by the internal commissions of the
Argentine Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies ( es, Cámara de Diputados de la Nación), officially the Honorable Chamber of Deputies of the Argentine Nation, is the lower house of the Argentine National Congress ( es, Congreso de la Nación). It is made up of 257 ...
for general legislation, health, penal legislation, and family. It was approved by 64 to 57 votes, which allowed it to be discussed by the chamber itself. The bill was approved by the
Argentine Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies ( es, Cámara de Diputados de la Nación), officially the Honorable Chamber of Deputies of the Argentine Nation, is the lower house of the Argentine National Congress ( es, Congreso de la Nación). It is made up of 257 ...
by a narrow margin of 129 to 125 votes. The proposal divided both the legislators of
Cambiemos ( en, Together for Change) is a centre-right political coalition in Argentina. It was created in 2015 as Cambiemos ( en, Let's Change), and renamed in 2019. It is composed of Republican Proposal, Radical Civic Union, Civic Coalition ARI and ...
and the
Justicialist Party The Justicialist Party ( es, Partido Justicialista, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism. Current president Alberto Fernández belongs to the Justicialist Party (and has, since 2021, served ...
. The project was again approved by the internal commissions to be debated in the Chamber of Deputies in 2019.


Political reactions


Cambiemos

Elisa Carrió Elisa María Avelina "Lilita" Carrió (born 26 December 1956) is an Argentine lawyer, professor, and politician. She is the leader of Civic Coalition ARI, one of the founders of Cambiemos, and was National Deputy for Chaco Province and Buenos Ai ...
, one of the most influential figures of
Cambiemos ( en, Together for Change) is a centre-right political coalition in Argentina. It was created in 2015 as Cambiemos ( en, Let's Change), and renamed in 2019. It is composed of Republican Proposal, Radical Civic Union, Civic Coalition ARI and ...
, is strongly opposed to the right to abortion. She suspected that some legislators were instructed to vote in support of the bill, and threatened to leave the coalition. Víctor Fernández, archbishop of
La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...
, asked the president to use a
veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...
against the law, if he was truly against abortion. Marcos Peña, chief of the cabinet of ministers, confirmed that Macri would honor the result of the discussion, and would not veto the bill if approved.


Peronism

The Peronist factions in Argentina (the
Justicialist Party The Justicialist Party ( es, Partido Justicialista, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism. Current president Alberto Fernández belongs to the Justicialist Party (and has, since 2021, served ...
, the
Renewal Front The Renewal Front ( es, Frente Renovador, FR) is a Peronist political party in Argentina led by Sergio Massa, who is part of the Frente de Todos. Massa is a Peronist and said he wants to "build the Peronism of the 21st century." History It w ...
, and the
Front for Victory The Front for Victory ( es, Frente para la Victoria, FPV) was a centre-left Peronist electoral alliance in Argentina, and is formally a faction of the Justicialist Party. Former presidents Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner wer ...
) are also divided over the project. During the preliminary discussions in the Senate, there were conflicting views over the chance of doctors refusing to perform abortions as
conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
s. Miguel Pichetto opposed it, claiming that everybody should obey the law. José Mayans considered instead that a state-enforced killing would be similar to a
capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
, which is not allowed in the Argentine legislation. Senator Guillermo Snopek, who is against abortion, requested that the minister of health, Adolfo Rubinstein, was not to be allowed to make a speech during the preliminary discussions in the senate. He considered that such a speech could influence the legislators, and be a breach to the
separation of powers Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typic ...
. He also accused him of having ties with the
International Planned Parenthood Federation The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is a global non-governmental organisation with the broad aims of promoting sexual and reproductive health, and advocating the right of individuals to make their own choices in family p ...
. The request was dismissed, and Rubinstein made his speech without problems. He clarified that he was not talking in the name of the government, but just of the ministry of health, and that he only intended to provide relevant statistics, and not engage in the moral aspects of the abortion debate.


See also

*
Abortion in Argentina Elective Abortion in Argentina is legal in the first 14 weeks of gestation. The abortion law was liberalized after the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy Bill (Argentina) was passed by the National Congress in December 2020. According to the la ...


References


External links


Bill approved by the Chamber of Deputies (2018)

Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy Law as approved by the Senate (2020)
{{Alberto Fernández 2018 in Argentina 2018 in law 2020 in Argentina 2020 in law Abortion in the Americas Abortion law Law of Argentina Presidency of Mauricio Macri Presidency of Alberto Fernández