In Argentina, women resumed the fight for #LegalAbortion2020
Thousands protested in front of the Argentine National Congress in the capital Buenos Aires on February 19, 2020, in support of the legalization of abortion.
Abortion is illegal in Argentina, and punishable with a prison sentence, except when the pregnancy is the result of rape or when it poses a risk to the woman’s life.
The march was organized by the National Campaign for the Right to Legal, Safe, and Free Abortion and focused on the approval of a bill, proposed in parliament for the ninth time, that would allow the voluntary interruption of pregnancy and put an end to obstruction of access to abortions that are already legal.
The bill nearly passed in 2018 — it was approved by the Chamber of Deputies but rejected in the Senate by 7 votes from conservative senators spanning different political parties. The topic of abortion in Argentina transcends the lines of traditional party politics.
The bill was proposed again in 2019, but politicians refused to consider it at that time because it was an election year and many candidates preferred to avoid controversial issues.
In 2020, women’s rights advocates took to the streets and parliament once more with fresh hopes and the slogan “the bill is on the streets”:
