March 8: International Women’s Day

The 8th of March became a day to symbolize the struggle by women across Latin America in their struggle to legalize abortion. Rallies took place in several countries, but the movement continues to be by far the strongest in the southern cone: Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.

Above is a picture from the rally in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Sometime in April the Uruguayan Congress will vote on a resolution known as the Reproductive Law that will include the teaching of sexual education in schools as well as decriminalizing abortion. The Socialist Party president, Tabaré Vázquez, has announced that he plans to veto the law if approved by the parliament. Mónica Xavier, a Socialist Party senator, in an interview with the Argentine newspaper Página 12 said that she plans to vote in favor of the law.



Left, women rally in Montevideo, Uruguay.

In May of 2004, the Uruguayan Congress voted 17-13 rejecting a proposed law to legalize abortion. Statistics show that 52,000 births take place each year in Uruguay, a country of 3.3 million people. Between 30,000 and 50,000 pregnancies are terminated.