The People vs. the Parliament in Argentina

[Judi Lynn]

A sign that reads "Legal, Safe and Free Abortion" is seen as activists gather in front of the National Congress Building while senators vote for the new abortion law on August 8, 2018, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
MARIANO MARTINO / GETTY IMAGES

Amy Arreaga Socialist Worker
PUBLISHED
August 18, 2018

Hundreds of thousands of people calling for legal, safe and free abortion on demand in Argentina showed their outrage on August 9 when they gathered in the early morning in the pouring rain after the Senate voted down a bill that would have both decriminalized abortion and allowed free access to the procedure in public and private hospitals.

Despite this disappointing blow to reproductive rights, the headway made in Latin America to legalize safe and accessible abortion — dubbed the “green tide” after the bandannas worn by women’s rights activists around the continent — will be invaluable to future struggles.

The Senate vote against the bill came a few months after the lower house of Congress voted in favor by a 129-to-125 margin—and after years of campaigning for the issue, led largely by Ni Una Menos, a grassroots anti gender-based violence movement.

The bill is known as “ley de interrupción voluntaria del embarazo” — IVE or “law of voluntary interruption of pregnancy.”

More:
https://truthout.org/articles/the-people-vs-the-parliament-in-argentina/