Agency One
19:52
During the enactment, Fernández stressed that it is a “day of joy” because he has kept “his word” to have the law voted on, which was part of the promises he made in the election campaign, as reported by the Télam news agency.
Argentina’s President Alberto Fernández enacted the law on the legalization and decriminalization of abortion in the country on Thursday, passed at the end of December. During the act of enactment, Fernández stressed that it is a “day of joy” because he has kept “his word” for the law to be voted on, which was part of the promises he made in election campaign, as reported by the news agency Télam.La law allows the voluntary interruption of pregnancy until 14 weeks gestation. Until now, interruptions in pregnancy in cases of rape or endangering women’s health were legal in Argentina. Outside this list of causes, all other miscarriages were a crime punished by prison. Under the new law, Argentine women over the age of 16 will be able to have a legal abortion during the first 14 weeks of gestation after signing informed written consent. In reference to one of the most controversial aspects of the project, the conscientious objection by medical personnel, the law obliges all hospitals to have a doctor who is willing to perform an abortion and practice it within ten days of application.
