Argentina abortion vote: Senate rejects bill to legalise terminations in first 14 weeks of pregnancy

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In a blow to thousands of women who will be forced to seek illegal terminations, Argentina’s senate has voted against a bill to legalise abortion in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy.

After marathon debate, senators voted 31 in favour to 38 against in what is a victory for the church in the largely Roman Catholic country – the Pope, who hails form Argentina, had made clear his opposition to progressing reproductive rights for women..

The lower house of congress in Buenos Aires had already passed the bill, with the country anti-abortion president Mauricio Macri poised to sign it.

Rules that only allow the procedure in cases of rape or risks to a woman’s health will remain in place following the vote.

Anti-abortion demonstrators were pictured celebrating outside the congress building before dawn on Thursday after the result was announced, while those favouring abortion were pictured in tears – the issue has left Argentina divided.

During the debate, senator Mario Fiad described abortion a “tragedy”, warning, “the right to life is about to become the weakest of rights”.

Opposition Senator Pedro Guastavino said he was initially against the proposal but changed his mind after coming to understand that illegal abortions put lives at risk.

“The only way to understand this is through the point of view of public health,” he said.

Jose Miguel Vivanco, director for the Americas at Human Rights Watch, said Argentina had a “historic opportunity” to protect the rights of women. Amnesty International told Argentine legislators that “the world is watching”.

Activists pushing for a change in the law said as many as 3,000 women had died of illegal abortions since 1983.

While many doctors supported a change in the law, hundreds of medics staged anti-abortion protests, in one case laying their white medical coats on the ground outside the presidential palace.

The Argentine vote gripped debate about the provision of terminations for pregnant women across Latin America, which continues to have strict laws on abortion backed by its largely Catholic populations.

In neighbouring Brazil – home to the world’s largest population of Catholics – abortion carries a punishment of up to three years in prison unless a woman is raped, pregnancy puts her life in danger, or a foetus is brain-dead.

Chile’s Constitutional Court last year upheld legislation ending its absolute ban on abortions, permitting the procedure when a woman’s life is in danger, when a foetus is not viable or in cases of rape.

Small groups rallied in other countries across the region to voice support for the Argentine abortion measure, including in Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru.

Additional reporting by agencies