Faith and Body: New Battle Over Abortion in Argentina

Reproductive rights in Argentina face increased obstacles as the administration of Javier Milei emboldens anti-rights groups and politicians.

Ella Fernández
March 10, 2026

On September 25, 2025, as Argentine actress Camila Plaate took the stage after receiving the award for Best Supporting Actress for Belén at the 73rd San Sebastián International Film Festival, she asked, “Who is Belén? I am Belén.”

Belén, the Argentine film directed by Dolores Fonzi, focuses on the true case of a young woman from Tucumán who was imprisoned in 2014 after suffering a miscarriage in a hospital bathroom. She spent 29 months in prison, accused of aggravated homicide.

Continued: https://nacla.org/faith-and-body-new-battle-over-abortion-in-argentina/

ARGENTINA – Court intervention puts abortion drug supply under scrutiny

Federal court orders Health Ministry to publicise a collective constitutional amparo action seeking to guarantee access to abortion.

Feb 27, 2026
Barbara Komarovsky

A dispute over the supply of abortion medication has escalated into a broader constitutional battle over whether Argentina’s government is upholding the country’s 2020 abortion law.

Federal Civil, Commercial and Contentious-Administrative Court No. 2 of La Plata has instructed the government, through the Health Ministry led by Mario Lugones, to publicise a collective amparo – a legal mechanism in Argentina that allows individuals or groups to seek urgent judicial protection of constitutional rights – seeking to guarantee access to abortion.

Continued: https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/argentina/collective-amparo-to-guarantee-access-to-abortions.phtml

27.02.2026

News

Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales

Civil association La Ciega

Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy Law

Oscar-Shortlisted Film ‘Belén’ Exposes the Injustice That Helped Transform Argentina’s Abortion Laws

Based on a true story, Belén revisits a miscarriage turned prosecution, and the movement that refused to let it stand.

Jan 13, 2026
by S. Mona Sinha

Belén didn’t know she was pregnant until she miscarried in a hospital. She’d gone to the emergency room suffering excruciating abdominal pain. Instead of receiving care, she awoke from surgery handcuffed to her hospital bed, accused of having an illegal abortion.

This is the true story behind Belén, a powerful new Argentine film directed by, co-written by and starring Dolores Fonzi. It is based on the ordeal of a young woman from northern Argentina, chronicled in Ana Correa’s nonfiction book What Happened to Belén: The Unjust Imprisonment That Sparked a Women’s Rights Movement, the prologue of which was written by Margaret Atwood. (Belén is a pseudonym to protect her identity.)

Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2026/01/13/oscar-film-belen-argentina-abortion-laws-miscarriage/

13.01.2026

What Happened to Belén: The Unjust Imprisonment That Sparked a Women’s Rights Movement

Dolores Fonzi on Argentine Abortion Rights Film ‘Belén’

Dano Nissen
December 15, 2025

Dolores Fonzi spoke with the Knockturnal about her film “Belén.” The film follows the true story of its titular character, a young Argentine woman who miscarries a pregnancy and is charged with an illegal abortion. Fonzi plays Soledad Deza, the lawyer who represents Belén. She also directed the film.

I want to start with the very first scene. It’s very thrilling and fast-paced and has a very different tone from the rest of the film. So tell me, as a director, because that’s one of the few scenes you’re not in, right? What was it like creating that feeling at the beginning of the film?

Continued: https://theknockturnal.com/dolores-fonzi-on-argentine-abortion-rights-film-belen/amp/

15.12.2025

Argentina – We Are All Belén

by Michelle Young
December 15, 2025

Belén (2025) is Argentina’s International Feature Film entry for the upcoming Oscars. The story is a true one, and it follows Belén, a pseudonym for a real woman who is falsely imprisoned for having an abortion, when she really had a miscarriage. Belén is held for over two years in Tucumán, Argentina, before being released in 2016. By telling her story, the film shows us a society that’s happy to predetermine a woman’s guilt when it comes to questions around abortion.

Unaware she’s pregnant, Belén goes to the hospital presenting with severe abdominal pain. The doctor determines she’s having a miscarriage at 22 weeks, which is considered the second trimester. It’s important to know that it’s entirely possible to be pregnant for this long and not know it – there’s even a term for it – a cryptic pregnancy.

Continued: https://latinamedia.co/belen/

Rollback and Resistance: The Erosion of Abortion Access in Argentina

Dec 10, 2025
Mercedes Sayagues

The movie “Belén”, Argentina’s submission for the 2026 Oscars, tells the story of a 26-year-old woman who suffered a miscarriage in a hospital in Tucuman province in 2014 and was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2016 after being convicted of procuring an illegal abortion.

Her case sparked a nationwide campaign to decriminalize abortion, known as the Green Tide after the green scarves protestors wore.

In December 2020, the Green Tide won: abortion was legalized on request up to 14 weeks, and later in cases of rape or risk to the woman’s physical or mental health.

Continued: https://healthpolicy-watch.news/rollback-and-resistance-the-erosion-of-abortion-access-in-argentina/

Belén review – gripping true story of woman unjustly accused of illegal abortion

In Argentina a lawyer fights to free a working-class woman jailed after the miscarriage of her baby in this heartfelt retelling

Cath Clarke
Wed 5 Nov 2025

Belén is a pseudonym; in 2014, a 25-year-old woman arrived at a hospital in Argentina with severe abdominal pain that turned out to be a miscarriage. She had no idea she was 22 weeks pregnant, but doctors suspected she had had an abortion, then illegal in Argentina, and called the police. Belén was charged with aggravated homicide and sentenced to eight years in prison. When her case was taken up by feminist lawyer Soledad Deza it sparked protests, thousands taking to the streets in green scarves. This heartfelt drama tells the story, mostly from the perspective of lawyer Deza (played by the film’s director Dolores Fonzi).

It begins in the hospital. The doctor in charge barely bothers to look up at Belén from his clipboard – she is a poor working-class woman and this will determine her fate. After a foetus is found in the hospital toilet, police arrive, handcuffing Belén to her bed. They do not carry out DNA tests on the foetus, so there is no physical evidence – a fact not raised by the blood-boilingly lazy defence at her trial.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/nov/05/belen-review-gripping-true-story-of-woman-unjustly-accused-of-abortion

05.11.2025

Reproductive Rights, Abortion Access Under Threat in Argentina

Rollback of Abortion and Reproductive Health Programs Undermines Women’s and Girls’ Rights

September 26, 2025
Stephanie Lustig, Research Assistant, Women’s Rights Division – Human Rights Watch

Since taking office in December 2023, Argentina’s President Javier Milei and his government have dismantled key sexual and reproductive health protections.

A report published this week by the Center for State and Society Studies (CEDES) shows that harmful rhetoric from Milei on abortion creates “a climate of risk and uncertainty,” causing misinformation and confusion for pregnant people on whether they can access abortion services, disrupting care, and affecting health professionals’ safety.

Continued: https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/09/26/reproductive-rights-abortion-access-under-threat-in-argentina

Protecting the right to abortion: An interview with Fernanda Doz Costa

Fernanda Doz Costa trained as a human rights lawyer in Argentina before becoming Amnesty International’s Director of Gender, Racial Justice and Refugee Rights.

26 September 2025
Amnesty International

To mark International Safe Abortion Day, Fernanda talks about the dangers of unsafe abortions, some of the people she’s supported along the way and the small and easy actions you can take to ensure people around the world can access safe abortions.

Can you tell me about your role at Amnesty and what led you to it?
I lead Amnesty International’s work on gender, racial justice and refugee rights. My journey into this role was shaped by my experience growing up in Argentina during the dictatorship and being an activist during my law school years, advocating for social justice and human rights.

Continued: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2025/09/protecting-the-right-to-abortion-an-interview-with-fernanda-doz-costa/

26.09.2025

Commentary

Amnesty International

International Safe Abortion Day

Oscars: Argentina Submits Abortion Drama ‘Belén’ For Best International Feature Film Race

By Zac Ntim
September 25, 2025

Dolores Fonzi’s San Sebastian Competition title Belén has been submitted as Argentina’s entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th annual Academy Awards.

Based on a true story, the film tells the story of a young woman who is admitted to a hospital with severe abdominal pain, unaware she is pregnant. She wakes up handcuffed to a gurney and surrounded by police. She is accused of having self-induced an abortion and, after two years in detention, is sentenced to eight years in prison for aggravated homicide. A female lawyer from Tucumán fights for her freedom with the support of thousands of women and organizations.

Continued: https://deadline.com/2025/09/argentina-oscar-entry-belen-abortion-drama-dolores-fonzi-1236555661/

25.09.2025