How an extreme president is trying to undermine abortion rights in Latin America | Opinion

The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, often states that abortion amounts to “aggravated homicide” due to “familial bond” and it’s part of a “bloody agenda.”

He also describes the wearers of green handkerchiefs — a symbol of Argentina’s pro-abortion movement — as murderers. True to his style, Milei complains about a right enshrined in national law since 2020. These provocative statements and attitudes are not just words. They also have real consequences aimed at preventing thousands from accessing their right to legal abortion.

The president is not the only one expressing such views. His associates do too. Writer Agustín Laje claims that abortion is murder. Milei´s biographer, Nicolás Márquez, calls abortion filicide. Treasury Secretary Rodolfo Barra published an article also calling to repeal the law, disregarding the ethics of public office. Following this publication, a legislator from the ruling party put forward a bill to revoke the law which fell through due to lack of support.

However, the battle is far from over. The attempts to attack this law clash head-on with our democratic institutions. Since the enactment of Argentina’s Law 27.610, there have been 37 attempts to have courts declare the legislation unconstitutional.

The debate leading up to this law being sanctioned was among the most inclusive and robust in recent years, and most of these attempts to bring it down were rejected. Only two open legal complaints remain, and both are on the Argentine Supreme Court’s docket. Until recently, the Supreme Court had a third case on the same issue, known as “Kulancysnky,” which was also rejected.

On International Women’s Day the government announced it would turn the Casa Rosada’s Women’s Room into a “National Hero’s Room,” eliminating a symbolic space. It has also proposed two male candidates for the Court, one of whom is a well-known opponent of abortion. In contrast, the Supreme Court honored former Justice Carmen Argibay (one of three female judges in its history) by naming a room in the Palace of Justice after her.

This tribute should be understood symbolically. Judicially, with its latest ruling to shut down anti-abortion appeals, the Court upheld a decision preventing any citizen from challenging the law on voluntary termination of pregnancy in Argentina. This decision reinforces what the Supreme Court established in the landmark 2012 “FAL” case which outlined the scope of non-punishable abortion, reaffirmed that such cases should not be prosecuted, and called for the removal of legal barriers to access.

These judicial decisions are a victory for those of us who defend the right to legal abortion. However, the battle for control over bodies continues locally and within the healthcare system: access to this service is not equally guaranteed across the country.

Hate speech and disinformation promoted by national authorities create confusion and uncertainty. Those who want to obstruct access to abortion can now use official arguments from the upper echelons of Argentine politics to persuade others and stigmatize the procedure, exploiting this climate. Amnesty International has received complaints from people being told that “under this government, abortions are not possible” and reports of doctors trying to evade their duty.

Additionally, the future of the country’s Integral Sex Education Law (ESI, by its Spanish initials), which should be provided at all levels of education, is under threat from the current government. Narratives are being promoted that discredit ESI as a form of “indoctrination” into a supposed “gender ideology.”

Disinformation and hate speech may continue, but fortunately Argentina’s institutions are holding strong. With decisions like Kulancynsky — through which the Supreme Court upheld one of the 37 lower court denials against abortion legislation — the judiciary is making it clear that this is not the way to repeal the law.

The Supreme Court clearly will not support the government’s push to return to a past where society had to deal with the abortions for 11-year-old rape victims being prosecuted and tough legal battles to access abortion, putting health and lives at risk.

Mariela Belski is Executive Director of Amnesty International Argentina.