The howls of joy from thousands of Argentines have awakened and thrilled the entire Congress district, in the heart of Buenos Aires. On Wednesday, December 30, shortly after 4 a.m., and after twelve hours of intense debate, Argentinian senators approved with 38 votes against 29 the government’s bill legalizing voluntary termination of pregnancy (abortion). A result much more important in the end than that anticipated by the Argentinian media and political analysts, who were counting on an extremely tight vote.
In the seconds following the announcement of the result of the vote, the feminist activists who awaited, feverishly, the verdict of the Upper House, fell into each other’s arms. Some seemed taken aback, weeping bitter tears, a blissful smile emerging under their masks, while others chanted, elated, famous feminist slogans like ” Legal abortion in the hospital! – a song that has ceased to be a demand and will soon be a reality in Argentina. So many cathartic reactions after a long sleepless night, while waiting for the vote in the Senate.
“I can’t believe it … It’s been so long that we waited for this”, is moved Clara Rios, 26 years old who, like her neighbors, wears a green scarf tied on her wrist, a symbol of the fight for the right to abortion in Argentina. A few minutes before the vote, the young woman and her friends gathered to follow live the speeches of the last senators preceding the vote, broadcast on giant screens. “It’s a huge victory for women’s rights. After this horrible year, finally good news! “ Lia, 38, rejoices. After Cuba, Guyana and Uruguay, Argentina therefore becomes the fourth country in the Latin American subcontinent to legalize abortion.
A major political victory
On the other side of the Place du Congrès, split in two by high barriers, stupor reigned in the “Sky blue camp”, that of anti-abortion. The activists, supported by the Catholic and Evangelical Churches, had also mobilized strongly in recent days “In defense of life”. In an unequivocal message of support, Argentinian-born Pope Francis tweeted before consideration of the bill began in the Senate on December 29: “The Son of God was born rejected to tell us that every rejected person is a child of God. He came into the world as a small child, weak and fragile, comes into the world, so that we can tenderly welcome our weaknesses. “
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