Abortion in Argentina

Abortion in Argentina is strictly limited by law. Until 2007 there were no confirmed figures of performed abortions; health authorities estimated 500,000 per year (40% of all pregnancies). Around 80,000 patients per year are hospitalized due to post-abortion complications (and must face legal punishment). Many failed abortion attempts and deaths due to them are not recorded as such and/or are not notified to the authorities.

A complete scientific study of abortion (the first of its kind in Argentina), commissioned by the Ministry of Health and performed by several independent organizations, was released in June 2007. Using indirect methods on figures from the National Health and Nutrition Survey and combining them with data from healthcare facilities, the study concluded with a minimum figure of 460,000 and a maximum of 615,000 voluntary abortions per year (around 60 abortions per 1,000 women). The researchers assumed that for every woman that seeks medical help due to complications of abortion, seven others do not.

The Constitution of Argentina does not establish specific provisions for abortion, but the 1994 reform added constitutional status for a number of international pacts, such as the Pact of San José, which declares the right to life "in general, from the moment of conception". The interpretation of the expression "in general" in certain cases of abortion is still subject to debate.

In 1998, after a visit to the Vatican and an interview with Pope John Paul II, President Carlos Menem passed a decree declaring 25 March the Day of the Unborn Child. The date was due to the Catholic Holy Day of the Annunciation (that is, the conception, by the Blessed Virgin Mary, of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in her womb). The Menem administration had already aligned with the Holy See in its complete rejection of abortion and contraception. During the first celebration of the new holiday, in 1999, the President stated that "the defense of life" was "a priority of [Argentina's] foreign policy".

President Fernando de la Rúa (1999–2001) was not outspoken about its Catholic belief and its influence in government policies, but effectively kept them unchanged.

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