On Wednesday, August 8th, 2018, the Senate of Argentina voted on a bill that would have allowed abortions for the first fourteen weeks of pregnancy. Thankfully, the Senate voted no on the bill with a 38-31 vote, leaving protections for the preborn in place.
Currently, abortion is illegal in Argentina except for the cases of rape, the mother’s life being at risk, or the baby is disabled; it will remain this way after the vote.
In June, the lower house of Congress passed this bill in a very close vote, 129-125. For the past week, the country has been divided with various protests.
Because Argentina is the hometown of Pope Francis, there were many nuns and priests protesting. The Archbishop of Buenos Aires referring to the protests said, “It’s not about religious beliefs but about a humanitarian reason.” Cardinal Mario Poli, the archbishop of Buenos Aires told churchgoers, “Caring for life is the first human right and the duty of the state.”
Doctors and families marched in Buenos Aires during a protest organized by the Christian Alliance of Evangelical Churches in Argentina. Muslim groups joined the pro-life protests as well.
Many of the signs and banners read, “Si al Vida” which means “Yes to Life,” and thousands walked around with blue bandanas reading, “Salvemos Las Dos Vidas” meaning “Save Both Lives.” People stood outside of the Faculty of Law at the University of Buenos Aires holding a sign that was fifteen people long that read, “Abogados por la Vida” which translates to “Lawyers for Life.”
A group of women who were rallying for abortion to become legal, walked in a line dressed as women from the Hulu original show, “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
Lawmakers deliberated for over 15 hours to come to the decision, and it was not released until this morning. The Argentinian vote shows that we can still take steps to protect the preborn. In July, Guam outlawed abortion, and now, Argentina has followed in Guam’s path.
