With the House of Representatives having to decide by the end of the month whether or not to legalise free abortions up to the 14th week of pregnancy (see Argentina: President Macri opens debate on abortion, in a country highly divided over such issues), the United Nations Committee on the Right of the Child[1] has just published a report urging Argentina to grant abortions to minors between 13 and 16 years of age.
In its report, the UNCRC has asked the Argentinian government to grant “access to safe abortion services and post-abortion care for adolescents, ensuring that their opinions are always heard and duly taken into account as part of the process of decision making”. The Committee is mostly concerned about young 14-year-old girls who could be imprisoned for having an abortion.
The Argentine code authorises adolescents aged 13 to 16 to make their own decisions about any “non-invasive” treatment that “does not compromise their state of health or provoke a serious risk to their lives or physical integrity”. Do these criteria apply to abortion? This question is currently being debated by the House within the context of a draft bill and parental consent.
[1] UNCRC: United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
[1] Return of Obamacare before the United States Supreme Court
Telesur (06/06/2018)