The Senate of Argentina has passed and unprecedented abortion bill. By implication, Argentina has become the fourth country in Latin America to legalise abortion.
Recently, the Senate voted by 38 in favour of legalisation of abortion while 29 voted against the practice with one abstention after a long session.
The meaning of the vote is that abortion will be legalized in the homeland of Pope Francis up to the 14th week of pregnancy. Also, abortion will be legal after the 14th week in cases of rape or if the life of the mother is under danger. It will however have repercussions across South America- a continent where abortion is relatively illegal.
Before the Senate’s decision, the bill had been approved by Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies and has the backing of President Alberto Fernandez, which means the Senate vote was the bill’s final hurdle.
Some moments before the Senate session commenced, the pope intervened and tweeted: “The Son of God was born an outcast, in order to tell us that every outcast is a child of God. He came into the world as each child comes into the world, weak and vulnerable, so that we can learn to accept our weaknesses with tender love.”
