Argentina set to become first major Latin American nation to legalise abortion

'In the 21st Century, every society needs to respect the individual choice of its members to decide freely about their bodies,' says Argentina's president

Argentina is set to become the first major Latin American country to legalise abortion after the country’s president announced the imminent new legislation.

Campaigners hailed Alberto Fernandez's announcement as a potential turning point for women’s rights in the region, after he said a bill would be sent to congress within just 10 days

Mr Fernandez made the announcement in the National Congress in the capital of Buenos Aires on Sunday while thousands assembled outside.

Some women cried during the speech as others wielded green scarves which have become an emblem of the country's long-running battle to make it legal for women to have their pregnancies terminated.

“Abortion happens, it’s a fact,” Mr Fernandez, who was sworn in as president in December, said in his first annual address to congress.

“A state should protect citizens in general and women in particular. And in the 21st Century, every society needs to respect the individual choice of its members to decide freely about their bodies.”

He argued the current law had "condemned many women, generally of limited resources, to resort to abortive practices in absolute secrecy, putting their health and sometimes their lives at risk”.

Abortion is a highly divisive issue in the country of 45 million and a bill legalising the procedure was rejected by Argentina’s senate after getting the approval of the country’s congress back in 2018.

In contrast to the previous time, the bill has the support of the country’s president.

Abortion is permitted in Argentina if the pregnancy is due to rape or in instances when the mother’s health or life is in danger but campaigners say the law is not consistently implemented.

Fury over abortion laws raged in February last year when authorities refused to let an 11-year-old girl impregnated by an elderly rapist in Argentina have the abortion to which she was legally entitled.

The young girl, who had been raped by her grandmother’s 65-year-old partner, gave birth by caesarean but her baby died on International Women’s Day last year.

Mariela Belski, executive director of Amnesty International Argentina, welcomed the president’s announcement on abortion.

She said: “Congress must now listen to the demands of tens of thousands of women who have fought to have control over what they do with their bodies.

“Access to safe abortion is a human right. Legalising abortion would be a truly historic step for our country, and women would be able to look forward to a future where their rights are respected and they are treated with compassion.”

Latin America has some of the world’s most stringent restrictions on abortion – with only Uruguay, Cuba and Guyana having legalised the procedure in the region.

Forced child pregnancy is a big problem in Argentina and wider Latin America. Tens of thousands of girls in the region become pregnant after being raped every year, according to research by the Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean for the Defence of Women’s Rights (Cladem) covering 14 countries.

The World Health Organisation estimates that each year between five per cent to 12 per cent of maternal deaths globally can be attributed to unsafe abortion – with the annual cost of treating major complications from unsafe abortion estimated at $553m (£435m).