Argentina's leftist president-elect reignites abortion debate

The inauguration of Argentina's president-elect Alberto Fernandez next month has reignited a debate over the legalization of abortion, a year after conservatives narrowly blocked its decriminalization, leaving the country bitterly divided over the issue.

Fernandez, a leftist Peronist, pledged last week he would move to legalize abortion as soon as the new government takes over on December 10.

"I am an activist for an end to the criminalization of abortion," Fernandez, 60, said in an interview, adding that he would send a bill to Congress.

However, he did not say whether he would seek to decriminalize abortion or legalize it as demanded by feminist movements.

Fernandez already appears to have nailed his colours firmly to the mast on the issue. He recently attended the launch of "We are Belen" a book telling the story of a young woman who ran afoul of Argentina's strict anti-abortion laws.

After suffering a miscarriage, Belen was jailed for 29 months for an abortion, before eventually being acquitted by a court.

In a foreword for the book, Canadian author Margaret Atwood said Argentina "provided some of the real-life practices that I included in The Handmaid's Tale, especially the theft of babies perpetrated during the military dictatorship."
"How many other Belens are there in the world? How many women have died because they were afraid of going to a hospital because of an abortion, spontaneous or provoked, terrified of the possibility of being accused of murder?"
"I think he has to decriminalise it and legalise it, but to do that he has to proceed in stages: maybe he should first consider decriminalization and then legalisation." "You can't go fight with all your guns blazing at once, because there are very powerful forces lined up on the other side."
"I want abortion to be legal. I saved myself, but there are thousands of women who don't save themselves."