The Argentinian senate’s rejection of a bill legalising abortion in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy is a cruel disappointment for millions of its citizens. The legislation had already been passed by the lower house, and Amnesty International said 60% of the public backed it. Feminists blamed pressure from the Catholic church; Pope Francis made clear his opposition to any liberalisation in his homeland or elsewhere.
Some had taken victory in Ireland this May as a harbinger of broader change, though it has yet to have a direct impact in the most obvious place: Northern Ireland, where abortion rights remain tightly restricted and must be reformed. One of the potent arguments which helped to swing the Irish referendum towards resounding support for relaxing its near-total ban was not of morality or ideology, but of fact. Abortion restrictions do not stop abortions: they merely make them harder and very often more dangerous for women. Indeed, one study suggests that abortion rates are slightly higher for countries with restrictive laws.
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