Grounds on Which Abortion Is Permitted s5

Argentina

ABORTION POLICY

Grounds on which abortion is permitted

To save the life of the woman Yes To preserve physical health Yes To preserve mental health Yes* Rape or incest Yes* Foetal impairment No Economic or social reasons No Available on request No

Additional requirements

An abortion must be performed by a licensed physician with the consent of the pregnant woman. ______* The Penal Code allows abortions to be performed for health reasons but does not differentiate between physical and mental health. In addition, controversy exists as to whether the Penal Code allows abortions to be performed in all cases of rape or only in cases of the rape of a woman who is an idiot or insane.

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CONTEXT

Government view of fertility level: Satisfactory

Government intervention concerning fertility level: No intervention

Government policy on contraceptive use: No government support

Percentage of currently married women using modern contraception (aged 15-49): ..

Total fertility rate (1995-2000): 2.6

Age-specific fertility rate (per 1,000 women aged 15-19, 1995-2000): 65

Government has expressed particular concern about: Morbidity and mortality resulting from induced abortion Yes Complications of childbearing and childbirth ..

Maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 live births, 1990): National 100 South America 200

Female life expectancy at birth (1995-2000): 77

Source: The Population Policy Data Bank maintained by the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. For additional sources, see list of references.

30 Argentina

BACKGROUND

Decree No. 3992/84 of 21 December 1984 approving the ordered text of Law No. 11179, the Penal Code (Articles 85-88) prohibits abortion except when performed to prevent endangerment of the mother’s life or health, when this cannot be achieved by other means, or if the pregnancy results from a rape or an attack on the chastity of a woman who is an idiot or insane. The latter indication for abortion has been a matter of some controversy. It is unclear from the language whether it permits abortions in the case of pregnancies that result from rape as well as pregnancies that result from an attack on the chastity of a woman who is an idiot or insane or only in the case of pregnancies that result from the rape or attack on the chastity of a woman who is an idiot or insane. The latter opinion is held by the majority of commentators, particularly since an earlier version of the Code clearly permitted abortion when the pregnancy resulted from rape, provided criminal proceedings had been initiated. In 1984, this version was replaced with the current version.

Abortions must be performed by a licensed physician and with the consent of the pregnant woman, or her legal representative, in the case of a rape or attack on the chastity of a woman who is an idiot or insane. A person inducing an abortion is subject to imprisonment for a period of 3-10 years if the abortion is performed without the woman’s consent and for 15 years if the woman dies. If the abortion is induced with the woman’s consent, the person is subject to one to four years’ imprisonment, or six years’ imprisonment if the woman dies. A woman inducing her own abortion or consenting to its inducement is subject to one to four years’ imprisonment. Physicians, surgeons, midwives and pharmacists performing unlawful abortions are also subject to suspension from practising their profession for a period of time twice as long as the prison term to which they have been sentenced.

Despite the restrictive nature of its abortion laws, Argentina has one of the highest abortion ratios in the world, with one abortion estimated to occur for every two live births. Studies have found abortion to be the most important cause of maternal death in all groups over 20 years of age. Prosecution for unlawful abortion is rare. The requirement of legal proof of pregnancy as a precondition for prosecution allows abortion to be performed despite current prohibitions.

The high incidence of abortion has been partly attributed to both the limited availability of contraceptive methods and limited access to information about contraception. Family planning activities were prohibited by the military Government in 1974 and remained so until 1986, when Decree No. 2274 (5 December 1986) was introduced, repealing the 1974 decree. The 1986 decree stipulated that the Ministry of Health and Social Action should develop and implement programmes to improve maternal and child health. Resolutions No. 463/88 of 23 November 1988 and No. 8535 of 2 August 1996 went a step further, approving the development of a reproductive health programme. The programme’s primary objective is to provide women of high reproductive risk with family planning information and services.

Despite advancements in the legal climate concerning access to contraception, the Government has not passed legislation permitting the implementation of those resolutions. Thus, although family planning is now legal and available in the private sector, it is not easily available to women who, for economic reasons, must rely upon the public sector.