Reflection article: Gender, sexuality and the Argentinian radical Jewish left

NERINA VISACOVSKY

Twentieth Century Communism

Lawrence & Wishart

Lugar: Liverpool; Año: 2021 vol. 20 p. 146 - 160

1758-6437

On December 30, 2020, amid the turmoil caused by the COVID Pandemic, Argentina approved the Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy Law, which legalizes abortion until the fourteenth week of pregnancy. In public hospitals, the procedure is now free of charge. Prior to this milestone which was enacted on 14 January 2021, abortion was only permitted in cases of rape or when a pregnant woman’s health was at risk. The law is the result of years of activism and protests against prevailing conservatism in a country heavily influenced by the Catholic Church, led by a grassroots women’s movement, known as the ‘green wave’ which unites many different organizations that have been working towards the same goals. Women and men associated with the green wave have stressed that the fight against anti-abortion legislation is about socio-economic inequality. Among the men who supported the cause was the highly regarded cardiac surgeon, educator, and spokesperson, Dr. René Favaloro. He propagated that while poor women risk their lives undergoing unsafe backstreet abortions, women with resources find ways to interrupt their unwanted pregnancies safely. The latter are able to either travel to a country where abortion is legal or retain the services of expensive doctors in their own country who are willing to perform the procedure under safe, sanitary conditions.