Argentina’s legalisation of abortion will provoke a backlash
The country’s decision will encourage campaigners for more liberal laws but may invigorate their opponents, too
WITHIN DAYS Argentina’s president, Alberto Fernández, is expected to sign a law making abortion legal. Argentine women will be able to terminate their pregnancies within the first 14 weeks for any reason. The measure is a big deal. With 45m people, Argentina is the fourth-most-populous country in Latin America, a predominantly Catholic region, and the native country of the current pope. It is now the largest of the few Latin American countries that allow abortion on demand (see map). Argentina’s new law will see the share of women in the region with such access rise from 3% to 10%.
This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “Green wave, blue breakwater”
From the January 9th 2021 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionDiscover more
Entrevista con Javier Milei, presidente de Argentina
Transcripción de su encuentro con nuestro corresponsal
An interview with Javier Milei, Argentina’s president
A transcript of his meeting with our journalist
Mexico and Canada brace for Donald Trump’s tariff thrashing
Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum and Canada’s Justin Trudeau are taking different approaches to looming trade war
Javier Milei, free-market revolutionary
Argentina’s president explains how he has overturned the old economic order
Is Uruguay too stable for its own good?
The new president must deal with serious problems with growth, education and crime
Bolsonaro’s bid to regain Brazil’s presidency may end in prison
Brazilian police have accused some of his backers of involvement not just in a coup, but in an assassination plot