Argentina: Shadows over abortion a year after legalization

It's been a year since Argentina legalized elective abortions up to 14 weeks of gestation, and there are disparities in the procedure's availability

By DÉBORA REY and ALMUDENA CALATRAVA
Associated Press
27 December 2021

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Every week of late, more than 20 women with unwanted pregnancies come to Dr. Miranda Ruiz, one of the few physicians who perform free abortions in northern Argentina's Salta province — many under a year-old law that legalized elective abortion to the 14th week of gestation.

Yet activists say that abortion services in socially conservative parts of the country such as Salta remain restricted and under threat, leaving poor women the choice of a clandestine abortion or having an unwanted child.

Continued: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/argentina-shadows-abortion-year-legalization-81955957


How the pandemic has affected abortion rules around the world

By Miriam Berger
September 26, 2020

Argentina’s president was expected to propose a landmark law to decriminalize abortion, setting a new standard for Latin America. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit. The release date was delayed, indefinitely.

Ruth Zurbriggen, a reproductive rights activist with the group Socorristas en Red, felt “pain and rage.” But the group’s work continued — efforts, she said, made even more pressing as the pandemic took center stage.

Continued: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/09/26/coronavirus-pandemic-global-abortion-access-reproductive-health


Argentina – Socorristas en Red: Activists provide vital lifeline for women seeking abortions

For women unable to gain access to legal abortions, the Las Socorristas en Red network is an essential lifeline, providing them with guidance, support and care in their moment of greatest need.

Julia Logue
June 27, 2020

Even in the middle of the night, Irina Percara’s phone is always on full volume. She never knows when she’ll need to be reached.

Irina, 24, is one of 450 activists that form Las Socorristas en Red, a network of feminist groups across Argentina that guide women through abortions using misoprostol, a drug that safely terminates pregnancies during the first trimester.

“We help women who need abortions do it without guilt, without judgment, and without putting their health and safety at risk,” the activist told the Times.

Continued: https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/argentina/socorristas-en-red-activists-provide-vital-lifeline-for-women-seeking-abortions.phtml


Argentina’s abortion campaign launches virtual events to revitalise movement

Argentina's abortion campaign launches virtual events to revitalise movement
Activists seemed on the brink of victory when they were stalled by the pandemic and a historic bill wasn’t formally introduced

Natalie Alcoba in Buenos Aires
Published on Thu 28 May 2020

Feminists in Argentina like to say: “la lucha está en la calle” — the battle is in the streets. But with the country under a strict coronavirus lockdown, the women’s movement can no longer flood the streets.

So on Thursday, activists have planned a series of virtual events to mark 15 years of their campaign to legalize abortion – and inject new momentum to campaign which was stalled by the pandemic, just as it seemed on the brink of victory.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/may/28/argentina-abortion-activism-coronavirus-government


How a Network of Activists Are Helping Women Get Abortions in Argentina During Coronavirus Lockdown

How a Network of Activists Are Helping Women Get Abortions in Argentina During Coronavirus Lockdown

By Ciara Nugent
May 1, 2020

These days, Ruth Zurbriggen finds herself having meetings at midnight. A university lecturer in the Argentine province of Neuquén, Zurbriggen spends her spare time helping other women get abortions in a country where the procedure is only legal in a few circumstances. Stuck at home because of a nationwide quarantine order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, women often need to speak at night, when their families or partners are asleep and can’t hear them talking about their decision.

Zurbriggen, 54, is a founding member of the Socorristas en Red (literally, Network of Lifeguards), a group of 504 activists spread across Argentina’s territory. The socorristas help women navigate the country’s health system, which, by law is meant to provide abortion in cases of rape or where the pregnancy is a risk to the health of the mother.

Continued: https://time.com/5830687/argentina-abortion-coronavirus/