BUENOS AIRES, May 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Lawmakers in Argentina launched a fresh bid to legalize abortion, presenting a new bill to Congress and resuming a battle that has divided the homeland of Pope Francis ahead of October’s general election.
A vast crowd — mostly young women dressed in green, the color that has come to symbolize their movement — gathered on Tuesday outside the Congress building in central Buenos Aires since early evening to support the bill.
Last year, a bill to decriminalize abortion up to the 14th week of pregnancy was narrowly adopted by the Chamber of Deputies but defeated in the Senate, under strong pressure from the still-powerful Catholic Church.
The new bill is being put forward by 15 lawmakers from a range of parties, including President Mauricio Macri’s ruling center-right Cambiemos coalition and left-wing opposition parties.
The protesters plan to hold a major demonstration into the night to mark the revival of their campaign, hoping for a better ending this year. Similar protests were planned for cities and towns across Argentina.
In the corner of the square, a smaller group of anti-abortion activists struggled to make themselves heard.
Victoria Tesoriero, leader of the Campaign for the Right to Legal, Safe and Free Abortion, said activists would keep the pressure on lawmakers ahead of the election, in which a third of Senate seats and half of those in the lower house will be contested.
The bill is unlikely to return to the Senate before the end of this year, given the elections, observers say.
In raucous scenes outside Congress last August, abortion rights campaigners wept and hugged, while fireworks and shouts of joy erupted among anti-abortion activists as the Senate’s defeat of the measure was announced.
In Argentina, abortion is only allowed in case of rape, a threat to the mother’s life or if the fetus is deemed non-viable.
Various charities estimate that 500,000 illegal, secret abortions are carried out every year in Argentina, resulting in the deaths of about 100 women. — NNN-AGENCIES
