Eva Barrionuevo, a doctor on the frontlines in Argentina: ‘We know that abortion rights don’t last forever and we will have to fight for them’

The physician says misinformation, pharmaceutical shortages and peer intimidation are on the rise during Javier Milei’s presidency

Mar Centenera
Buenos Aires - MAR 11, 2025

Doctor Eva Barrionuevo, 39, says there are women in her northeastern Argentinian province of La Rioja who think abortion is no longer legal. Women who believe that it has been banned by President Javier Milei, because they heard him equate the voluntary termination of pregnancy with “aggravated murder.” That they are coming to her hospital later and later in their pregnancies, some of them already in their second trimester, due to a lack of information. That they have once again turned to the clandestine drugs that were widely used before abortion was legal, which are less effective and more dangerous than those distributed free of charge by today’s healthcare system. Every day, Barrionuevo fights back against these misconceptions and the growing fear among her fellow doctors who also accompany voluntary pregnancy terminations. It is her mission to guarantee a woman’s right to decide whether she will become a mother, a right that was officially won at the end of 2020 in her country, but is now at risk.

Continued: https://english.elpais.com/international/women-leaders-of-latin-america/2025-03-11/eva-barrionuevo-a-doctor-on-the-frontlines-in-argentina-we-know-that-abortion-rights-dont-last-forever-and-we-will-have-to-fight-for-them.html

11.03.2025

Commentary

belief-based care denial

Catholic Church

conscientious objectors

Dr. Eva Barrionuevo

Javier Milei

manual vacuum aspiration

Network of Professionals for the Right to Choose

Argentina – Abortion access under threat amid ‘chainsaw’ cuts

Buenos Aires Times
March 7, 2025

Four years after Argentina became the first big Latin American country to legalise abortion, women are finding it hard to access terminations due to President Javier Milei's "chainsaw" economics and anti-feminist diatribes, critics say.

At a women's sexual health NGO in the town of Chivilcoy, 160 kilometres (about 100 miles) west of Buenos Aires, abortion pills are handed out sparingly because of reduced state-sponsored supplies.

Each week, about 15 women in Chivilcoy request misoprostol and mifepristone – two medications used to end pregnancy – but some now leave empty-handed, Cecilia Robledo, a local counselor who runs the organisation, told AFP by telephone.

Continued: https://batimes.com.ar/news/argentina/abortion-access-under-threat-amid-chainsaw-cuts.phtml

Abortion access under threat in Milei’s Argentina

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Four years after Argentina became the first big Latin American country to legalize abortion, women are finding it hard to access terminations due to President Javier Milei's "chainsaw" economics and anti-feminist diatribes, critics say.

March 6, 2025

At a women's sexual health NGO in the town of Chivilcoy, 160 kilometers (about 100 miles) west of Buenos Aires, abortion pills are handed out sparingly because of reduced state-sponsored supplies.

Each week, about 15 women in Chivilcoy request misoprostol and mifepristone -- two medications used to end pregnancy -- but some now leave empty-handed, Cecilia Robledo, a local councilor who runs the organization, told AFP by telephone.

Continued: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250306-abortion-access-under-threat-in-milei-s-argentina

Argentina’s Abortion Law Three Years Later

The country's abortion law has reduced fertility rates and preventable deaths among girls ages 10 to 14

By Maria Emilia Pianesi
December 4, 2024

Each year, comprehensive abortion care could save the lives of up to nearly 39,000 women and prevent related health complications for 5 million women worldwide. A multicountry survey on the implementation of comprehensive abortion policies in Latin America and the Caribbean found that safe abortions and quality post-abortion care in the region is limited by some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world. As a result, the issue remains a major health and policy challenge in the region.

In this context, Argentina has taken a historic step for sexual and reproductive health and rights by legalizing abortion. Law 27.610, Access to Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy and Post-Abortion Care, has been enforced since January 2021. It allows anyone to request an abortion before 14 weeks of pregnancy and entails no time limit in cases of sexual assault or when the life of the applicant is in danger.

Continued: https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/argentinas-abortion-law-three-years-later

Abortion access is dwindling in Milei’s Argentina, three years after legalization

By Betiana Fernández Martino, CNN en Español
October 29, 2024

Montecarlo is a small city in the province of Misiones, Argentina, with just under 20,000 inhabitants. Those who walk through its neighborhoods can find cobblestone streets, but most of the roads are made of dirt. Anyone who wants to travel from this town to Posadas, the provincial capital, has to drive for about three hours.

María (who asked not to be identified by her real name to avoid being recognized in her city) says that in Montecarlo, all the neighbors know each other. She has four children: the oldest is 13 years old, and the youngest is just over a year old.

Continued: https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/29/americas/argentina-abortion-access-javier-milei-intl-latam/index.html

Abortion access is dwindling in Milei’s Argentina, three years after legalization

By Betiana Fernández Martino, CNN en Español
Tue October 29, 2024

Continued: https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/29/americas/argentina-abortion-access-javier-milei-intl-latam/index.html

Expanding abortion access strengthens democracy, while abortion bans signal broader repression − worldwide study

October 24, 2024
Alison Brysk, Professor of Political Science and Global Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara

Abortion is on the agenda not just in the United States but worldwide.

A majority of people in developed democracies increasingly favor abortion rights and self-determination. And, in most places, laws are shifting to reflect public opinion. Since 2020, Argentina, Colombia and Mexico, among others, have legalized abortion. In 2024, France adopted the right to an abortion as a “guaranteed freedom” in its constitution.

At the same time, on every continent, some modern democracies are rolling back reproductive rights, among them Poland, Brazil and the U.S.

Continued: https://theconversation.com/expanding-abortion-access-strengthens-democracy-while-abortion-bans-signal-broader-repression-worldwide-study-240278

24.10.2024

Commentary

Abortion Rights Backlash

Alberto Fernandez

Alisan Brysk

Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women

enshrining abortion rights in constitution

Law and Justice party

Latin American activists talk religion, reproductive rights at UM

By Melody Royaee
September 18, 2024

Leaders in Latin America’s reproductive rights movement, visited the University of Miami on Friday, Sept. 13 to partake in a Reproductive Justice Symposium.

Panelists Marta Alanis and Pascale Solages reflected on their activism in their home countries of Argentina and Haiti, respectively, and spoke to the urgency of the current political situation in Florida and elsewhere in post-Roe America.

“People who have money will always have access to abortion and so this is an attack [on] folks who cannot travel to get care outside of the state. This is an attack on working-class Floridians,” panel moderator Ysabella Osses said.

Continued: https://themiamihurricane.com/2024/09/18/latin-american-activists-talk-religion-reproductive-rights-at-um/

How an extreme president is trying to undermine abortion rights in Latin America

BY MARIELA BELSKI
JULY 29, 2024

The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, often states that abortion amounts to “aggravated homicide” due to “familial bond” and it’s part of a “bloody agenda.”

He also describes the wearers of green handkerchiefs — a symbol of Argentina’s pro-abortion movement — as murderers. True to his style, Milei complains about a right enshrined in national law since 2020. These provocative statements and attitudes are not just words. They also have real consequences aimed at preventing thousands from accessing their right to legal abortion.

Continued: https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/article290533684.html

29.07.2024

News

Agustín Laje

Amnesty International

Argentina’s Law 27.610

green handkerchiefs

Integral Sex Education Law

‘The stigma has returned’: abortion access in turmoil in Javier Milei’s Argentina

Health workers fear the return of unsafe abortions as recent statements lead to a spike in doctors refusing to provide care

Harriet Barber in Buenos Aires, The Guardian
Mon 18 Mar 2024

Javier Milei’s anti-abortion rhetoric has prompted growing numbers of doctors in Argentina to refuse to carry out terminations, according to medical professionals across the country.

Since taking office in December, the self-described libertarian has used speeches to both global leaders and schoolchildren to condemn abortion as a “tragedy” and “aggravated murder”.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/mar/18/argentina-abortion-javier-milei