Argentina To Become a Model for Latin America, UN Experts Hope

United Nations human rights experts celebrated the approval of the law that allows safe and free abortion in Argentina and expressed their hope that this law will serve as a model for other countries.

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The law is "a crucial step to eliminate discrimination against women and girls", Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health Tlaleng Mofokeng said, adding that "this law should ensure safer terminations of pregnancies."

Previously, Argentina allowed abortion only in cases of rape or when the woman's health was in danger. In practice, however, women could not legally access this procedure even for those reasons.

"Rather than decreasing pregnancy terminations, the criminalization of abortion simply led women to clandestine and unsafe abortions. Many women died as a result," the UN Working Group on Women said.

After recalling the previous unsuccessful attempts to legalize abortion in Argentina, the UN experts highlighted that the extraordinary mobilization of citizens contributed to the approval of the law.

"Now it is important that the law is applied throughout the country and is not usurped by a political agenda or a religious dogma," the UN experts pointed out and expressed concern about a conscientious objection clause allowing health professionals to do not perform abortions if the procedure is against their beliefs.

Argentina's Safe Abortion Law, which allows voluntary pregnancy interruption until the 14th week of gestation, was drafted by President Alberto Fernandez's administration in November 2020.