Women's experiences on barriers to access legal abortion in Argentina: information for advocacy and public policies

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Datos del proyecto

Título del Proyecto
Women's experiences on barriers to access legal abortion in Argentina: information for advocacy and public policies
Coordinador del Proyecto
Área de CEDES
 
Status
Finalizado
Fecha de Inicio
01-10-2019
Fecha final esperada
01-07-2021
 
Equipo de Investigación

Descripción

Abstract
Abortion has been legal in Argentina since 1921 under certain indications. Demanding access to legal abortion within the normative framework has been a key issue in the last two decades. Critical changes regarding access to safe and legal abortion have also taken place: a) Landmark Supreme Court ruling clarifying the scope of indications and providing principles for abortion provision; b) Almost all provinces have norms regulating abortion access; c) Dissemination by word of mouth and Internet of groups of women helping women to get an abortion; d) Networks of public health professionals committed to guaranteeing legal abortions; e) Registration of misoprostol approved by the regulatory agency. Several cascading events happened during 2018 that contributed to a turning point in the social and political context. This enabling environment was the result of the legislative debate around legalization, as well as the informed advocacy and political mobilization promoted by the women´s movement. The legislative debate increased abortion visibility and highlighted data as well as arguments coming from legal, social and public health research. A key argument that kept coming was that Argentina has already indications for legal abortion and therefore, no legal reform was needed. Feminism gained recognition in mass media and public opinion, bringing in abortion impact on women’s lives and rights. Last but not least, social mobilization brought together diverse social actors in favor of legal reform, in particular young generations and new political actors. Argentina has an unprecedented scenario in which a window of opportunity to improve abortion access with a need to develop arguments to counterbalance anti-choice attacks. In light of the forthcoming legislative debate, updated data and arguments are needed. It seems necessary to document: a) multilevel and multidimensional barriers to access legal and safe abortion under the current norms to inform the rationale for a mixed regulatory framework, and b) linkages between the informal and formal systems of abortion care in order to increase access to safe abortion, maximizing the comparative advantages of both systems.