The Mauricio Macri government will not stop its coalition in Congress from moving forward with a vote on abortion reform, Cabinet Chief Marcos Peña indicated Friday.
The government will “not put obstacles in the way” of a vote, he told reporters following a Government House meeting among Majority Leader Emilio Monzó and leaders of the Congressional coalition’s PRO, UCR Radical Party and Civic Coalition parties.
Bills to liberalise abortion legislation have traditionally failed to pass the committee level in Congress. Activists and allies within Congress have pushed for abortion legislation every two years.
On Mondays, thousands — mainly women — gathered before the Congress building to renew calls for free, legal and safe procedures.
“It’s a parliamentary issue”, Peña told La Nación this week.
One-third of maternal deaths in Argentina are a result of clandestine abortions. The government estimates that between 370,000 and 522,000 abortions are performed every year, most of them illegal.
The major hurdle for abortion reformists will be the Senate, where most sitting members have expressed their opposition to more liberal legislation.
-TIMES
For more read: Activists renew calls for legal abortions
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