From the International Union of Socialist Youth we call to vote in favour of the law of “Ley de Interrupción Voluntaria del Embarazo”that legalises abortion in the first 14 weeks that is being discussed in Argentina. We send our support to the Campaign for Sexual Education with hopes that they will succeed.
“Anticonceptivos para no abortar, y Aborto Legal Seguro y Gratuito para no morir”!!!
From IUSY we seek equality, we defend human rights and we fight to empower women in all stages of their lives. We believe that it is essential to recognize women as subjects of rights, as citizens and moral agents capable of deciding whether or not to be mothers, and that the State guarantees them their right to health in an integral way. States need to ensure that women are capable of having access to and being able to freely exercise their sexual and reproductive rights. States need to provide access to comprehensive sexual education and reproductive health services, including free access to abortion.
For 13 years the Campaign for Sexual Education, “Anticonceptivos para no abortar, y Aborto Legal Seguro y Gratuito para no morir”, have presented the bill that is currently under review in the Congress of Argentina. The bill has come as a result as the women’s movement grew stronger due to an extreme increase in sexual violence. Under the slogan #NiUnaMenos many women came out to defend themselves, especially the youth. The youth of Argentina are the ones who are currently leading this debate and fight for their reproductive rights and freedom.
In Argentina approximately 450,000 abortions are performed per year, and the death rate from clandestine abortions amounts to 43 (representing 17.3% of total maternal deaths). Having an abortion in Argentina today costs between $ 10,000 and $ 17,000, and misoprostol pills cost approximately $ 3,000. Poor women suffer the most; they are in the top of those who die because they cannot afford the costs of accessing safe abortion.
In countries where abortion has been decriminalized, maternal deaths from abortions no longer exist and the number of abortions performed was reduced. Even in Rosario, Argentina, abortion mortality has been reduced to zero and advances in the same way in the Province of Santa Fe, where Misoprostol is also produced in public laboratories. Understanding abortion as a public health policy is unavoidable in the face of these figures and evidences.
The decriminalization of abortion is a debt of democracy and its legalisation is necessary in terms of social justice, equality, women’s health and human rights. Hopefully, legal abortion will be a reality in Argentina soon.