As 2020 comes to a close, we have news out of Argentina that decades of feminist pro-choice activism have come to fruition: the Senate has passed a bill that came through the House recently, decriminalizing abortion up through 14 weeks gestation.
For more, see these articles:
- On the law and the vote
- On reactions: “I feel relieved”
- This short English-language news video from DeutscheWelle, the German public broadcasting network (includes crowd reaction to results of vote, both in favor and against)
An item of Bioethics note: the legislation allows conscientious objection to abortion and there is not a broad infrastructure in Argentina for abortion provision, so it remains to be seen what access to safe, legal abortions will be like once the new law goes into effect. However, the conscientious objection provision of the law does require that clinicians who refuse must also refer the patient to another clinic (it’s not clear yet to this Editor whether that clinic must be one known to perform abortions). A core ethical issue of conscientious objection is whether there are any limitations on the right to refuse, and whether referral makes the clinician complicit in an act they consider immoral and/or is necessary to prevent the clinician’s own views from preventing the patient getting access to care they find morally permissible and that others will provide.