1:41 PM
Wednesday 30 December 2020
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Buenos Aires – (BBC):
The Argentine Senate, after a lengthy session of debates and deliberations among its members, passed a bill to legalize abortion until the 14th week of pregnancy.
Thus, the controversial bill has been approved by the legislative authority in its two chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate, and the presidential authority, which makes Argentina one of the first countries to allow abortion among South American countries and allow women to terminate pregnancy despite the opposition of the Roman Catholic Church.
With regard to the outcome of the vote, it was expected that the difference in it would be small, but the law was passed by a clear margin after it won the approval of 38, rejected 29, and a member of the council abstained from voting.
It is noteworthy that the previous law in Argentina did not authorize abortion except in two specific cases, when rape or when the continuation of the pregnancy puts the mother’s health at risk.
Amnesty International estimates that 40,000 women and girls in Argentina end up every year in hospitals suffering from complications from unsafe clandestine abortions.
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