Argentina moves closer to historic abortion legalization

A pro-choice movement, symbolized by a green handkerchief, has swept through Latin America, where abortion is punishable by law

Belen ended up in jail after suffering a spontaneous miscarriage. Unaware that she was pregnant, the 25-year-old went to seek medical care at a hospital in Argentina's northern province of Tucuman when she suffered abdominal pain.

In accordance with Argentina's stringent anti-abortion legislation, Belen (not her real name) was reported by the hospital to the authorities and sentenced to eight years in prison for homicide. She did not regain her freedom until almost three years later, in 2017, after a feminist lawyer who took up her case convinced the Tucuman supreme court to overturn her conviction.

There are many Belens in Argentina and this madness will continue until abortion is legalized," said Ana Correa, pro-abortion rights campaigner and author of the book Somos Belen (We Are Belen).

That long-awaited moment may be about to arrive.

Argentina is expected to move within one step of becoming the first major Latin American nation to legalize abortion on Thursday, when the lower house of congress votes on a legal abortion bill sponsored by President Alberto Fernandez. The president holds a majority in the lower house, and a government source said the senate could vote the move into law as soon as next week.

The push for reform in Argentina is part of a pro-choice green wave" sweeping through Latin America, symbolized by the green handkerchief that has become the campaign's instantly recognizable flag across the entire region.

The women of Argentina now enjoy the encouragement of all Latin America, where the green handkerchief is being raised up high from north to south," said Claudia Pineiro, an Argentinian author who has spent years campaigning for legal abortion.