Argentine Senate votes to legalise abortion

BUENOS AIRES: Argentina’s Senate voted on Wednesday to legalise abortion, a first for a big country in Latin America and a triumph for women’s rights campaigners achieved over the visceral objection of the Catholic Church.

Abortion is extremely rare in a region where the Church has held cultural and political sway for centuries. Previously, it was allowed on demand only in communist Cuba, tiny Uruguay and parts of Mexico.

The fiercely contentious vote was held at 4am after a marathon debate that lasted through the night. In a vote of 38-29 with one abstention, the Senate backed the government proposal to allow terminations through the 14th week of pregnancy. The lower house had already approved it this month.

As the result was read out, a crowd of thousands of people who had supported the bill erupted in cheers outside the Senate building in Buenos Aires, waving the green flags that represented their campaign. Green smoke rose in the dawn light above the crowd.