It was during the 1970s that Argentina began to take the first steps in this fight, when feminist and health organizations began to raise the need to decriminalize abortion.

In 2003, the first plan to fight in favor of legal abortion was developed during a National Meeting of Women. This meeting is an almost unique event in the world, in which women from different provinces of Argentina come together to debate in an assembly, strategies to achieve gender equality. In the framework of another of these meetings, in 2005, the National Campaign for the Right to Legal, Safe and Free Abortion was created, which in 2007 presented the first bill in the National Congress.

In 2015 a key event occurred: the first massive mobilization #NiUnaMenos, which arose to demand that measures be adopted to combat and eradicate gender violence. This mobilization represented a milestone and paved the way for a broader agenda of demands for rights.

This context was key to moving towards the decriminalization and legalization of abortion. This is how the so-called “green tide” arose, which flooded the streets with scarves of the same color, symbol of the fight for legal, safe and free abortion.

The bill for the voluntary interruption of pregnancy was presented seven times in the National Congress. Only in 2018, legislators were able to debate the bill for the first time, although its approval was not achieved. But that year was key for abortion to “come out of the closet”, stop being a taboo and become a matter of public conversation. Only two years later, on December 30, 2020, did abortion become law.

While this first anniversary of the law is a date to celebrate, it is also a time to reflect on the challenges facing the implementation of the standard.

Law 27,610 establishes that access to abortion must be guaranteed like any other health service in the public or private system. Amnesty International Argentina has closely monitored the implementation and although we are aware that only one year has passed, we observe some difficulties in accessing the provision. One of the main barriers is the lack of access to information, a determining factor for women and pregnant women to exercise their rights.

Despite the enormous importance in the conquest of this law, there are still many corners of the country where women do not know what they are entitled to, under what conditions, where to access the benefit, its gratuity, who is obliged to guarantee it and where it is They can make claims against delays or barriers to access.

Disinformation sustains the stigma around abortion, with inhibitory and / or dissuasive effects that alienate people from the health system. In addition, it puts people’s health and lives at risk and has a discriminatory impact on people in vulnerable situations.

Currently the right to interrupt pregnancy is law in Argentina. But there are sectors that try to prevent its application. In its first year of validity, a total of 37 actions were initiated against the norm, of which only 5 are still pending. These actions questioned its constitutionality, appealing to the same arguments with which the anti-rights sectors lost the debate in Congress.

Today we celebrate that abortion is legal in Argentina. But we know that defending the law and working for its effective implementation are challenges that lie ahead.

The Argentine experience inspires other countries in the region and the world to advance in the recognition of this right. At times when there are setbacks around the right to abortion in northern countries, it is important that the green tide from the south illuminate those who occupy spaces of power and decision-making, so that they prevent setbacks and advance in favor of this right .

Mariela Belski is Executive Director of Amnesty International Argentina and Ambassador of SheDecides