Latin America’s draconian abortion policies have resulted in the needless deaths of thousands of women, said Amnesty International’s secretary general, Salil Shetty, as he called for a decisive push for legalisation of the procedure across the region.
Argentina has very restrictive abortion laws. Even in the case of rape, or when a woman’s life is in danger in which the law permits abortion, doctors are often unwilling to proceed for fear of prosecution.
But a shift in public opinion has forced congress to vote on a bill to change the law later this month. The amendment would allow terminations in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy.
This growing demand for legal changes has even prompted Mauricio Macri, Argentina’s centre-right president – who has repeatedly declared himself pro-life – to change his position. Last week, he said that if congress votes to relax abortion laws on 20 March, he would not veto the decision.
Pro-choice supporters have steadily risen in number since 2015, when protests began against gender violence in Argentina, which is estimated to claim the life of one woman every 30 hours.
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