Amanda Cotrim’s photographs document the thousands of abortion rights advocates who erupted into festivities throughout Buenos Aires on the day of the vote.

by Valentina Di Liscia
December 31, 2020

Yesterday, December 30, Argentina became the largest country in Latin America to legalize abortion. After 12 hours of debate — and a grueling decades-long battle between the nation’s progressive and conservative factions — the bill was approved in the Senate by a vote of 38 to 29.

Abortion rights advocates gathered outside the National Congress in Buenos Aires. In anticipation of the momentous decision, they erupted into city-wide festivities, flaunting bright green scarves and face paint to show their support for reproductive rights. The emerald hue has become emblematic of the pro-choice movement in Argentina, where tens of thousands of women suffer adverse health effects from a lack of access to safe abortions, particularly those from low-income backgrounds and rural areas. In 2016, 39,025 women were admitted to public hospitals for complications arising from clandestine abortions, 6,400 of whom were girls and teenagers aged 10 to 19.

Continued: https://hyperallergic.com/611817/photos-capture-strength-and-tenderness-of-historic-celebrations-in-argentina-after-abortion-legalized/