MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
A divided Argentine congress and society vote to decriminalize abortion
Argentina's Lower House will vote on Wednesday a bill to decriminalize elective abortion without judicial authorization in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. In Argentina abortion is only allowed when the mother's life is at risk or as a result of rape. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rulesAfter 70 years of Peronist political hegemony, and its conservative alliance with the Catholic Church, the fascist unions and the military, which “numbed” and “froze” all social change, the new political stage allows the debate of fundamental issues for all Western society .
Jun 13th, 2018 - 11:32 am - Link - Report abuse +1Destroying the myth of the “return of the old regime” the unrestricted decriminalization of abortion will be debated in the Argentine Congress today thanks to the “green light” of Mauricio Macri and his political alliance.
To the fury of Pope Francis I, head of a foreign state that shamelessly intrudes on the internal politics of Argentina.
I would like to know if any islander is so kind, if the abortion is “free” and absolutely legal in the Islands.
Massive stain and humiliation on the Pope if passes. Home country voting for Abortion rights. Voting all tied at 124-124.
Jun 14th, 2018 - 03:52 am - Link - Report abuse 0And to think if Francis had visited Argentina surely about 10 to 20 deputies would be voting no now... Putting pretty personal politics by Francis before the big picture could cost the church huge in Latin America. A big country in the region legalizing is going to have an effect.
The Chamber of Deputies passed it, now it has to go to the senate.
Jun 14th, 2018 - 02:13 pm - Link - Report abuse +1Trollboy, I didn't know you were so miffed at the Pope not visiting. I wonder if it really would have made a difference - seems kind of petty if so.
How sad is the role of Peronism that, naked in front of society, has lost the course of history and the “oligarchic alliance” of Mauricio Macri took the initiative in the search for social problems.
Jun 14th, 2018 - 03:28 pm - Link - Report abuse +2I hope that this is the beginning of the definitive end for populist conservatism.
pgerman,
Jun 14th, 2018 - 04:02 pm - Link - Report abuse +1I like your description of peronism.
According to the BBC it was 3 Peronist Deputies changing their minds at the last minute that allowed the bill to pass. I don't know what that means for Peronism...
Jun 14th, 2018 - 05:05 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Argentina has taken a giant step ahead by undoing a 100-year-old, backward law that imposed prison time for women found “guilty” of abortion.
Jun 15th, 2018 - 04:19 am - Link - Report abuse 0Besides the legislators who vehemently argued in favour of the new law during an almost 23-hour debate, a large part of the success must be credited to hundreds of thousands of women -- and supportive men -- who filled the Plaza del Congreso, absolutely outnumbering those in opposition and who stood an all-night, enthusiastic vigil until the final decision was reached.
After a last-minute change of heart by some legislators, what was announced as a potential defeat became a sound victory for the new law that ended the criminalization of abortion in a 129-125 vote.
President Mauricio Macri deserves recognition for allowing the debate and for leaving his party members free to vote as they saw fit -- even if he opposed the new law.
Save for the left, which voted unanimously in favour of the new law, the other political blocks were divided. About two-thirds of members of the alliance Cambiemos headed by Macri opposed the new law. About 53 of 59 members of the Kirchnerista Victory Front voted in support of decriminalizing abortions.
The above information reveals PG's opportunistic misrepresentation in his desperation to score cheap shots on Peronism now that the Cambiemos vessel is taking on water on all sides.
Although Cristina Fernandez was opposed to legal abortion, a law allowing for same-sex marriage was passed in 2010 under her presidency, with support of Néstor Kirchner, at the time congressman and president of the Justicialist Party.
As for the Church and Pope Francis' opposition, it made a lot more noise when opposing a law making divorce legal in Argentina, passed in 1987 during the government of well-remembered Raúl Alfonsín. At the time, the Church threatened to excommunicate Catholic legislators voting in support of that law.
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