Women favoring the legalization of abortion chant slogans June 4 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
THE Argentine Chamber of Deputies voted Thursday morning to legalize elective abortion in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy.
The bill now goes to the more conservative Senate for consideration. President Mauricio Macri has said he won’t veto the bill if Congress approves it, even though he opposes abortion, CNN reported.
Though it’s unclear if the bill will become law, the issue has energized Argentine women, including thousands who filled the streets around Congress during 23 hours of tense debate. They broke into cheers and chants upon hearing the bill was approved.
In Argentina — a Catholic country and the homeland of Pope Francis — abortion is illegal except in cases of rape or when the woman’s life is endangered. Supporters of abortion reform say even those legal abortions are difficult to obtain. Women who otherwise get abortions can be imprisoned for as long as four years.
The Chamber of Deputies’ bill also would allow women to get legal abortions after 14 weeks if the pregnancy resulted from rape, the woman’s health was at risk, or the fetus suffered severe conditions not compatible with life outside of the womb.
The vote was 129 to 125. It first was reported to have passed with 131 votes, but two congressmen claimed they pushed the wrong button and voted for the bill when they meant to vote against it.
Eliana, a 40-year-old baker, joined protesters for the first time Wednesday because, she said, she once felt forced to break the law.
“I had an abortion when I was 18,” she said, refusing to give her last name because the practice is illegal. “I was drunk and was forced into nonconsensual sex with someone I had known since I was 10.”
When Eliana wanted to get a legal abortion, a lawyer told her a judge would never approve because she knew her rapist.
“Luckily, I had enough money and contacts to go to a private doctor’s office, and everything was done safely,” she said. “But what about all the girls who can’t do that? What about those who are afraid to tell anyone and don’t have enough money to pay a doctor? That’s why I’m here.”
Meanwhile, Mercedes Foletto, 62, who wore a light blue handkerchief symbolizing the anti-abortion campaign, said she was there to be the “voice of the those who can’t speak.”
“They can call them fetuses, embryos, whatever they want, but the truth is that they are babies. They want to kill babies,” she said Wednesday.
Read more at www.armanikedu.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment