Abortion has long been illegal in Argentina: Currently, if a woman is found to have undergone the procedure (in instances other than rape or if the mother’s life is in danger), she can be jailed for up to four years. BUENOS AIRES - Argentina’s senators on Thursday voted against legalizing abortion in the homeland of Pope Francis, dashing the hopes of women’s rights groups after the bill was approved by the legislature’s lower house months earlier. Their efforts gained new impetus when President Mauricio Macri – who opposes abortion – called on Congress to consider a vote on it, and it narrowly passed in the lower house. One of them told Reuters news agency that “this vote showed that Argentina is still a country that represents family values.”

Pro-choice campaigners were visibly angry and some started fires in protest, while many others comforted each other. Uruguay and Cuba are the only Latin American countries with laws that broadly allow abortion, while Brazil's Supreme Court is in the process of deciding whether to decriminalize abortion in that country. The vote in Argentina came nearly two months after Argentina's Chamber of Deputies narrowly approved the measure and President Mauricio Macri said that despite his personal opposition to abortion, he was prepared to sign it. “The Argentine 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,” said Mariela Belski, the group’s executive director for Argentina.
The Argentine Senate rejects a bill that would have legalized abortion in Argentina.