Riots on the streets of Buenos Aires after Argentina votes against legalising abortion
The streets of Buenos Aires transformed into a fire-filled riot after Argentina's Senate voted against the legalisation of abortion in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy.
After a 15-hour debate, 31 senators voted in favour and 38 voted against a bill legalising abortion in the overwhelmingly Catholic country. Per the New York Times, "under current Argentine law, in place since 1921, abortion is legal only in cases of rape or if the pregnancy poses a risk to the woman’s health."
It's believed pressure from the Catholic church and Pope Francis are behind the decision not to stray from the strict abortion ban.
As votes were being counted, hundreds of thousands of people stood in the cold and rain awaiting the result. Per The Guardian, teens were heard shouting the words in the crowd: "Beware, beware, machistas [chauvinists] beware, all Latin America will be feminist."
In the immediate aftermath of the vote, the anger and upset was palpable as pro-legalisation demonstrators wept as they heard the news that senate had voted against the bill.
Despite the strict abortion ban, hundreds of thousands of women in Argentina are still having abortions. According to the New York Times, Argentina's Health Minister Adolfo Rubinstein estimates more than 350,000 "clandestine abortions" happen each year.
But, human rights organisations believe the number is closer to 500,000 per annum.
Sadness turned to anger as some demonstrators hurled bottles outside the Palace of the Argentine National Congress in Buenos Aires.
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Fires were started outside the government building.
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Argentina’s Amnesty International director Mariela Belski said the senate's decision would only "perpetuate the circle of violence which women, girls and others who can become pregnant are forced into."
"Lawmakers chose today to turn their backs on hundreds of thousands of women and girls who have been fighting for their sexual and reproductive rights,” Belski continued.
Topics Activism Health Social Good
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
