CHARLES UNIVERSITY IN PRAGUE FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Institute of Political Studies Master thesis 2020 Alexa E. Quiles H. CHARLES UNIVERSITY IN PRAGUE FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Institute of Political Studies Alexa Elleny Quiles Hernández Legalization of Abortion in Argentina: A Path-Dependency Reading of the Influence of the Catholic Church and the Contrast with the Uruguayan Experience Master thesis Prague, 2020 2 Author: Alexa Elleny Quiles Hernández Supervisor: Mgr. Eva M. Hejzlarová, Ph.D. Academic Year: 2019/2020 3 Bibliographic note Quiles, A. (July, 2020). Legalization of Abortion in Argentina: A Path-Dependency Reading of the Influence of the Catholic Church and the Contrast with the Uruguayan Experience. 82 p. Mater thesis. Charles University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Political Studies. Supervisor: Mgr. Eva M. Hejzlarová, Ph.D. Abstract Argentina’s abortion laws only allow women to access a lawful procedure in cases of rape and health or life threat, and this has been driving women who do not wish to continue a pregnancy into criminal considerations and, in many cases, dangerous and unhygienic environments. The aim of this work is to delineate part of the historical path that has forged the strong relations between the Argentinean State and the Catholic Church since the colonial period and the influence this has had on restrictive abortion rights for women today despite the growing number of demands to legalize voluntary termination. To highlight this influence, this study contrasts the Argentinean experience with that of neighboring Uruguay, a country that successfully legalized abortion in 2012 and which drew an effective division between the Church and the State at an early stage, furnishing a more autonomous environment for the government to respond to citizens’ needs. For this, this work takes on Paul Pierson’s approach to increasing returns and path-dependency theory and researches and analyzes events, dynamics and factors that have paved divergent paths for two States that, despite having shared a similar background, have produced different outcomes when it comes to women’s reproductive rights. Keywords Argentina, Uruguay, path-dependency theory, voluntary pregnancy termination, Latin America, reproductive rights, Catholic Church, increasing returns Range of thesis: 179,860 characters (including in-text references and spaces); 82 pages. 4 Declaration of Authorship 1. The author hereby declares that he compiled this thesis independently, using only the listed resources and literature. 2. The author hereby declares that all the sources and literature used have been properly cited. 3. The author hereby declares that the thesis has not been used to obtain a different or the same degree. Prague, July 29, 2020 Alexa Elleny Quiles Hernández 5 Acknowledgments I would like to thank every woman, especially my mother and two sisters, who has taught me all about women’s resilience, power, intelligence, strength, and undying courage. Thank you for inspiring me every day to take part, in whatever small way, in this fight that must be fought. Thank you to my supervisor Mgr. Eva M. Hejzlarová, Ph.D. and Mgr. Ing. Vilém Semerák, Ph.D. for your advice and guidance. This work is dedicated to all those women who have faced a decision from which they could not look away, especially to those who have made a choice in fear and surrounded by judgement. To their strength, their pain, and solace. “La maternidad será deseada o no será.” 6 Master Thesis Proposal Institute of Political Studies, IEPS programme Faculty of Social Sciences Charles University in Prague Date: 03.05.2019 Author: Alexa Quiles Supervisor: Mgr. Eva M. Hejzlarová, Ph.D E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 773519095 Phone: 224491496 Specialization: IEPS Defense June 2020 Planned: Proposed Topic: Liberalization of Abortion in Argentina: Implications of the Values Embedded in the Nation’s Legislative Power, the Influence of the Catholic Church and the Contrast with the Uruguayan Experience Registered in SIS: Yes Date of registration: 20.05.2019 Topic characteristics / Research Question(s): My thesis will focus on the following general questions: How have the values embedded in Argentina’s legislative branch shaped the nation’s restrictive abortion policy despite a strong public clamor to liberalize it? When contrasting this policy process with that of Uruguay, where abortion was legalized regardless of cause in 2012, what differences can we see regarding entrenched social and religious values in both countries’ public institutions, especially considering the secularity of the Uruguayan State? What is the influence of these differences in respect to each countries’ policy processes and outcomes when it comes to pregnancy termination? Has the impact of Uruguay’s legalization of abortion irrespective of cause been positive in regards to women dealing with unplanned pregnancies and their health? How can the female population benefit from the legalization of voluntary abortion? By focusing on the religious values present in the legislative power in Argentina, along with the substantial role that the Catholic Church holds over legislative affairs, pertinent information will be reviewed –quantitative and qualitative data from academic studies, media reports, legal texts, public statements and surveys– and analyzed in order to demonstrate the path-dependency created since the drafting of the current Argentinean Constitution, which has resulted in a sturdy, resilient hindrance to change regarding the precarious legal and health conditions circumjacent to the Argentinean female population and their right to decide over their maternity. Furthermore, a contrast will be made between the different abortion policy processes in Argentina and Uruguay, where voluntary termination has been liberalized and where we can see a clear-cut division between the State and the Church, resulting in laxer values regarding women’s reproductive rights and a break between the private and the public in the latter case. The liberalization of abortion is a matter of human rights and social justice as it includes debates on life, mental and physical health, medical attention, equality, inclusion, personal safety, privacy and freedom of choice. Giving women the right to choose over their maternity can derive in social benefits in the form of more optimal life-planning and lower maternal death rates, as demonstrated 7 by the Uruguayan case and other case studies from nations where abortion has been widely liberalized. Working hypotheses: 1. Hypothesis #1: There are underlying historical values derived from the historical link between the Catholic Church and the Argentinean government that have shaped Argentina’s legislative power and affected the public policy process regarding the liberalization of abortion in the country evidencing a path-dependency that has resulted in a partial secularization of the state. 2. Hypothesis #2: There is a difference in the public policy process regarding voluntary pregnancy termination that derives from the presence or lack of a link between the Church and the State, as demonstrated by the contrast between the Argentinean and Uruguayan processes in the matter. 3. Hypothesis #3: The liberalization of abortion regardless of cause in Uruguay has had a positive impact on those women who face unplanned pregnancies, especially when it comes to their health, which can serve as a basis for the justification of legalization in other Latin American countries with restrictive reproductive rights for women, such as Argentina. 4. Other hypothesis: a. The liberalization of abortion can have a positive impact on the physical and mental health of women who confront an unplanned pregnancy. Methodology: Theoretical background Change-resistant institutions could be explained by Paul Pierson’s theory of historical institutionalism which draws on the concept of “path-dependency” to give account as to why certain events and actions in the past can have strong influence in the outcome of a process as a result of a sequence of historical episodes. Path-dependency illustrates the hardships of bringing about change in a sequence of events that has already set the way for future decisions; allowing for a different outcome to emerge would be too costly and would diminish returns. According to Pierson, institutions shape the goals, interests and courses of action of actors who are driven by rational calculation and social norms, strongly determining political action and fashioning the development of public policy. Historical institutionalism explains the way history impacts the institutional development of public policy at a later time, governing to a certain extent how actors behave and the decisions they make in a contemporary setting. Methods: Review of the historicity of the Argentinean Constitution and its link to Catholicism. - Analysis of a letter emitted by the Catholic Church that implicates its tight links with the Argentinean military regime of the mid-70s and early 80s. - Review of the current links between the Catholic Church and the Argentinean state via budgetary allocation of resources for the salaries of Argentinean bishops. - Review of Senator’s claims on the pressure exerted by the Catholic Church on the Senate to reject the 2018 bill on the liberalization of abortion and the Church’s public stance on the matter. - Analysis of data that reveals the influence of religious perceptions on Congressmen’s legislative decisions.