Argentina Legalizes Abortion, a Milestone in a Conservative Region
The Senate vote on Wednesday was a major victory for Latin America’s growing feminist movement, and its ripple effects are likely to be widespread.
Supporters of legalizing abortion celebrating outside Congress in Buenos Aires on Wednesday.Credit.Sarah Pabst for The New York Times
Dec. 30, 2020
BUENOS AIRES Argentina on Wednesday became the largest nation in Latin America to legalize abortion, a landmark vote in a conservative region and a victory for a grass-roots movement that turned years of rallies into political power.
The high-stakes vote, during 12 hours of often dramatic debate in the Senate, gripped the nation and exposed the tensions between a conservative society long influenced by the Roman Catholic Church, and a more secular generation that is fired up by a growing feminist movement.