The rising green tide: the fight for reproductive justice in Argentina
Ana Cecilia Dinerstein
Within the collection of “Notebooks of Latin American Critical Thought”, CLACSO presents “The rising green tide: the fight for reproductive justice in Argentina", with introduction of Ana Cecilia Dinerstein[1], followed by an interview with María Alicia Gutiérrez[2] (member of the National Campaign for the Right to Legal, Safe and Free Abortion) carried out by the author.
The rising green tide: the fight for reproductive justice in Argentina[3]
The year 2020 ended triumphantly for the feminist movement in Argentina. After a constant and determined struggle, led by women, the Argentine Congress passed a bill legalizing abortion. As of January 24, anyone capable of becoming pregnant (that is, cisgender women, non-binary people, and transgender people) can access the provisions of the new Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy Law (IVE, Law 27.610). Those who wish to have an abortion can now do so in a public hospital up to the fourteenth week of pregnancy without having to explain the reasons or provide justification. The country has begun reorganizing its public health system to implement the new protocol for comprehensive care for people with the right to a legal abortion. In this article, I explore the history and context of the Argentine struggle for abortion, and then include my interview with María Alicia Gutiérrez, a long-time member of the National Campaign for Legal, Safe and Free Abortion and a professor of reproductive health at the University of Buenos Aires.
The genesis of the movement
Before the approval of the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy (IVE), women did not have access voluntary Legal abortion in Argentina. That is, there was access to abortion (ILE) under the grounds established in the Penal Code, along with the 2012 FAL Ruling of the Supreme Court of Justice. Protocols for accessing ILE existed with ministerial validity, and exceptions were made only rarely in cases of rape or when the woman's health was at risk. Even then, the final decision rested with healthcare professionals, who could refuse to perform a procedure based on religious beliefs or to avoid criminal charges and potential imprisonment. However, this never stopped the practice of abortions and only served to increase the risk of self-harm and death.[4]In fact, clandestine abortion is the leading cause of maternal mortality in Argentina, and data from the Ministry of Health (2018) indicates that nearly 500.000 illegal procedures were performed annually. In 2016, there were 245 maternal deaths, 43 of which were due to illegal abortions. This was an urgent public health issue in Argentina, as it is in the rest of the world. The World Health Organization estimates that “around 22 million unsafe abortions are performed each year worldwide, 98% of them in developing economies. These abortions cause 47.000 deaths per year, and two-thirds of them occur in Africa.”[5]
The feminist movement had long fought for the right to legal abortion in Argentina: the approved bill was the seventh introduced in Congress. While the struggle had intensified over the past 15 years, it gained renewed energy and urgency about three years ago, when feminist groups launched a new offensive to make it clear to politicians that women and society were ready for change. The National Campaign for Legal, Safe, and Free Abortion brought together social activists, feminists, women, LGBTQ+ people, and the trans community on a shared platform. In 2018, despite opposition from the Catholic Church and other religious groups, the then-president, the conservative Mauricio Macri, declared in his inaugural address that abortion would be legal.[6] The Campaign argued before Congress that it was necessary to reopen the debate on abortion. It acknowledged the growing social awareness of legal abortion, not only as a women's rights issue but also as a public health matter. That same year, the Campaign submitted a petition to Congress and gathered 71 signatures from members of parliament with diverse political affiliations, enough to ensure the issue was debated in parliament. This was a significant step forward, culminating in the bill's passage at the end of 2020.
Awareness and outreach
The inspiring slogan of the Campaign Education to make informed decisions; contraception to prevent abortion; abortion to prevent death It is comprised of three clear, reasonable, and motivating principles, which are now reflected in the new legislation. In contrast to the fundamentalist views of right-wing religious groups regarding the role of women in society, the Campaign promotes access to sex education to help women make decisions about their own reproductive health, so they can understand and control their bodies. It also demands that contraception be readily available to prevent abortions, and that when the first two options fail, abortion be an option.
In addition to the awareness campaign, the demonstrations were an important part of the feminist movement's mobilization strategy. The feminist collective Ni Una Menos[7] She contributed to the Campaign by including the issue of abortion in four of its marches. Ni Una Menos She argues that the criminalization of abortion should be understood as part of the broader problem of violence against women, since cases of rape, kidnapping, and sexual, psychological, and economic abuse have increased dramatically in Argentina.[8] The key point here is that, in a broader sense, the struggles surrounding social reproduction are, in fact, the struggles to reproduce society itself. Violence against women harms all of society and is a global health emergency. The continuation of life on this planet depends on eradicating this violence. The war against women's bodies is not an anomaly, but rather an inherent part of contemporary society, dominated by capitalism, colonialism, and patriarchy. Patriarchy inflicts its violence on women through the "deliberate denial of available and necessary medical services," including abortion, which has been classified in a recent United Nations report as a form of torture.[9]
Debates in Congress
The first major legislative debate on the legalization of abortion took place in the Chamber of Deputies in June 2018. Experts, activists, politicians, and the general public made extensive and insightful presentations to the members of parliament to help them make an informed decision on the issue. In her own words, our interviewee, María Alicia GutiérrezA reproductive health expert and one of the Campaign's leaders, conveyed a vital message to the representatives: the right to safe and free abortion is a collective right that responds to the broader demand for reproductive justice. It was a call to situate the discussion within the wider historical context of patriarchal and colonial relations, and to venture beyond the comfortable familiarity of the liberal notion of "choice" in pursuit of a more precise and intellectually rigorous intersection of class and race.
Historically, the issue of contraception has been interpreted and experienced in contrasting ways by women depending on their class and racialization. Commenting on the work of Angela Davis, Barbara Sutton argues that abortion is a complex issue that feminist movements have not always understood well. In the colonial past, “[while] economically privileged white women did not want to be forced into motherhood (and therefore demanded the right to abortion), women of color were prevented from having children (for example, through forced sterilization).”[10] Aware of that past, the Feminist Campaign in Argentina has deliberately included the issue of class in its perspective on abortion and has worked closely with gender diversity groups to make it possible for not only women but “all people with the capacity to gestate” to benefit from the legislation, in accordance with the principles of the Gender Identity Law, which allows trans men to have abortions.
The rise of the green wave: redefining activism
Maria Alicia It notes that the most important achievement of the National Campaign for Legal, Safe, and Free Abortion has been its insistence on an intersectional analysis of the barriers to reproductive freedom. This helped achieve the “social” decriminalization of abortion even before the bill was passed and abortion was legalized. Intersectional spaces were opened where women of all ages and races, gay and lesbian people, the non-binary and trans community, as well as the general public, contributed their diverse perspectives to the Campaign and helped society at large recognize and accept the importance of sex education, reproductive public health, and legal, safe, and free abortion.
While the Campaign's analytical work was characterized by intellectual rigor, its outreach and communication strategy also employed a particularly compelling symbolism. Women and other allies, with their green scarves around their necks, heads, and wrists, became an omnipresent image of the Campaign's public presence from its inception in 2005. The green scarf represents life and hope and powerfully evokes the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, a group of women whose children were kidnapped and disappeared during the last dictatorship (1976-1982). The Mothers began wearing white scarves to draw attention to the tragic agony they endured. Similarly, the women with green scarves transformed the fight for abortion rights into a national reckoning. When representatives debated the bill in the Chamber of Deputies in 2018, demonstrators enveloped the area around the Congress building like a green tide. They became the protagonists of their own destiny instead of submitting to the judgment of the Catholic Church and other anti-abortion secular and religious groups regarding their reproductive rights. It was a vigorous re-creation of struggles in which women have been at the forefront of revolutionary resistance, both as instigators and facilitators of movements, and clearly visible on the front lines.[11]
The effort and energy of the Campaign for the Legalization of Abortion led to the bill's passage in the Chamber of Deputies on June 14, 2018, after a close vote (129 votes in favor, 125 against). Unfortunately, the bill was rejected in the Senate, which represents the provinces. This occurred despite opinion polls showing strong support for the bill and despite the presence of nearly a million people in the streets. The Catholic Church and the anti-rights movement had won the first round. But the Campaign's patient and constant effort over the next two years bore fruit when the Senate reconsidered the bill and approved it in a vote of 38 to 29: safe, legal, and free abortion became a legal right in Argentina.
When I spoke with María Alicia GutiérrezShe told me that Alberto Fernández's government had assured the Campaign that it would work urgently on implementing the new bill, and that the President would consult with the Campaign, the feminist movement, and social organizations during the process. My first question, naturally, was about the sincerity of that promise.
Ana Cecilia DinersteinDo you trust the president?
María Alicia GutiérrezWell, I think it's reasonable for us to trust him because President Fernández has been working to ensure women have access to abortion and other reproductive health issues, despite the COVID-19 lockdown. Regardless, many of us in the Campaign believe that social organizations need to establish an independent monitoring system in partnership with autonomous organizations across the country to oversee the concrete implementation of the law nationwide. That's very important. We obviously want the government to develop and implement a robust and comprehensive communication strategy to ensure that women and other beneficiaries of the law learn and understand its scope and benefits. It's a social right. After the success and a small victory celebration, we haven't been able to meet again as the Campaign because we're exhausted, and we took a break during the summer holidays. However, in March we will hold our Annual National Plenary, which is our decision-making platform, to explore follow-up strategies.
ACDThe movement for legal abortion in Argentina has faced intense opposition from the Church (including the Pope), conservative political parties and their corporate backers, and other supporters. What do you think were the main reasons why the movement was able to withstand such strong opposition and, despite everything, ultimately succeed?
MAGWell, conservative and fundamentalist groups have been pressuring us for decades. In the 90s, it was primarily the Catholic Church. However, new fundamentalist Pentecostal groups and other pseudo-religious groups also began to boycott the Campaign. Some of them are very well organized and violent, inciting hatred, harassing, and defaming feminist activists and feminism. Our success is due to having a strong yet flexible organization, and we have adopted a horizontal strategy that has also been pluralistic. We have a national network, with strategic alliances with a variety of groups at different times during the last fifteen years of our existence. The Campaign has been a democratic initiative—as democratic as it can be in such a diverse movement with so many people involved.
Our actions over the years have been horizontal and rhizomatic. The different organizations that make up the Campaign undertake independent actions when necessary, but they also coordinate collective actions to support the Campaign's organizing process. Let me give you some examples: the Network of Health Professionals for the Right to Decide provides support and access to information on sexual and reproductive rights; our colleagues in the legal profession worked on the authorization for abortion that previously existed in the Penal Code; and a vast network of teachers participated in the Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) program, which has been law since 2006. Likewise, the National Women's Meetings have been held for 38 years and have always been educational spaces situated at the intersection of diverse feminist issues, problems, and approaches. In short, the success of our Campaign is due to dedication, organization, and dissemination through the media, to working with feminist journalists, and to conducting extensive research on the topic to support our arguments. From the beginning of our struggle, we understood the need for intersectionality, and we also know that we are an intergenerational movement. All of this generates conflict, but it also produces very creative synergies because we draw on history, experience, and new ideas.
ACDAs time goes on, feminist critiques of colonial and patriarchal capitalism are becoming increasingly stronger and more powerful. They have also become less theoretical and more practical and concrete. In their view, if democracy fails women, it cannot be called democracy. Global feminism is the only movement that simultaneously fights against patriarchy, heterosexuality, racial discrimination, capitalism, and colonialism. It is an incredibly exciting time for women in South America. Women in Brazil, Chile, and Colombia are mobilizing and devising their own campaigns. As a result, the right-wing political class in power is feeling the pressure. For example, on January 21, the National Party of Honduras and the Honduran Congress approved an amendment to Article 67 of the National Constitution, which legally protects the absolute prohibition of abortion, to prevent it from being permitted in the future. It is prohibiting something that is already prohibited! Isn't that proof of the fear that the success of the Campaign in Argentina could have a ripple effect in the region?
MAGYes. Although legal abortion already exists in some Latin American countries, Argentina is the first large country in the region to have it. Its nationwide implementation will benefit many people. I believe the new law will resonate throughout the region and, above all, will help support the regional fight against the new wave of fundamentalist conservatism, which is advancing slowly but steadily in the region.
ACDContinuing with the previous question, are the Campaign's communication strategies strong and creative enough to endure beyond the victory? Can they be applied universally? Is it feasible for other movements to adopt them?
MAGOur activism fosters plurality and diversity, and strives to adapt strategies to political and social situations; activism is at the service of the people. The long and immense Campaign has been sustained throughout the country by people who have voluntarily offered their expertise in medicine, law, communication, the internet, art and design, and social and medical research. It was also valuable to have people who could rethink and rewrite arguments and present them to different audiences, including Congress, in relevant ways and formats. Above all, we have built alliances with other complex movements and, as expected, have had to deal with a great deal of disagreement.
As you know, with the exception of Uruguay, Cuba, and two Mexican states, abortion is prohibited or restricted throughout the region. This has created a strong connection between the Campaign and feminists in the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean. In the 1990s, we created a regional Campaign for the Legalization of Abortion in Latin America, Central America, and the Caribbean (Campaign September 28This regional campaign supports all feminist struggles in their various forms and at different levels. Until 2017, it was coordinated from Nicaragua. However, regional coordination was subsequently assigned to Argentina precisely because of the massive mobilization taking place in our country. In this sense, we are in constant dialogue with campaigns in different countries. We have adopted the green scarf throughout the region, although each country has its own slogan and communication strategy. We continually seek ways to work toward the same objectives while respecting the unique characteristics of the different campaigns.
ACDCan you tell us more about the new ultraconservative groups called 'celestes'? After the victory, do you anticipate resistance from them? How are you preparing to deal with that possibility?
MAGWhat unites all fundamentalist conservative groups is their attack on what they call gender ideology. They accuse feminists, LGBTQ+ people, and transgender people of destroying the social order. It is important to point out two things: first, that unlike the claims of the Catholic Church, their arguments are not necessarily religious. They have moved from dogmatic ecclesiastical narratives to a discourse based on science, rights, and ethics that allows them to criticize the political system, public policies, and civil rights for their ineffectiveness in solving poverty, unemployment, and the need for decent living conditions. They play the "democratic game" to try to influence the democratic system. This is why these new groups identify with one of the colors of the Argentine flag, light blue, hence "celestes" (light blues). The second important point, along with the first, is that their arguments are not directed solely against abortion. They promote a civilizational project with the ultimate goal of restoring an imagined conservative order that would change the economy, politics, and society. They want to intervene in sexual politics, with a return to the "sexual family" model, with traditional complementary roles for men and women. They accuse feminists of destroying the possibility of creating an ideal conservative paradise that exists only in their minds. They will continue to promote this fantasy in the public sphere, and we are preparing to identify their arguments and respond to them in the media and on the streets.[12]
ACDThat makes me curious about the Campaign's relationship with the media. Was the movement forced to create channels for creating and disseminating subversive and insurgent messages that challenged the corporate media? Did they try to create a credible and accessible alternative narrative to project a vision of a new future in the minds of people in general, and women in particular? What types of existing media outlets were used to promote those goals?
MAGThe mainstream media never paid us any attention before 2018, when the debate on legalizing abortion was opened to public hearings in the Chamber of Deputies. That was a huge wake-up call for the media. And then, starting in February 2018, we were contacted a lot to explain our position. We had to develop a strategy: we decided to give interviews only as a couple instead of individually, and we always brought along medical professionals to explain all the "scientific" details and to appear "respectable" on television. As much as possible, we tried to rotate our interviewees to avoid focusing attention on any one personality. We brought in activist women, preferably young, to present and defend our arguments on radio and television. We also compiled a dossier with the key arguments of the Campaign for Legal, Safe, and Free Abortion and distributed it widely. At times, when the mainstream media withdrew their support, we used alternative media, which are well-developed in Argentina (for example, radio). It is very important to note that the Campaign built a strong communications working group, dedicated to creating a new language about abortion, emphasizing reproductive justice, public health, and education. We also developed our own aesthetic. In 2018, the network of feminist journalists who had supported much of the campaign, and who belonged to major media companies such as Clarín y La Nación It helped us to spread our goals and information, and also our arguments, throughout the country.
ACDHow was the campaign financed? Through crowdsourcing And other independent media outlets? Was there pressure to take over the movement through the offering of financial resources? Can other movements learn from their experiences?
MAGThe Campaign has always had very limited financial resources; we receive donations from other feminist organizations. But in 2017, we began to notice that individuals and larger organizations wanted to donate money to us. But it seems to me that, beyond the fact that money is always useful for maintaining the Campaign's infrastructure, particularly communication and outreach, many of our activities are free, carried out by activists. Other movements can learn from our experience, but it is simply an experience of activism. People are chosen internally to perform different tasks, and everything we do is deeply voluntary and therefore unpaid. We are united by a very cherished goal: in this case, the legalization of abortion. It is true that resources are needed to finance certain activities and infrastructure. But we all have jobs and contribute to the Campaign after hours, doing whatever is necessary. What we could offer other movements is our experience of patience and tolerance in the face of all kinds of differences and challenges in each of the working groups.
ACDAre there any emerging trends where the feminist movement and the fight against environmental degradation and climate change intersect? Do you think the two movements could collaborate more and benefit each other? How do you see ecofeminism in the context of the Campaign's success?
MAGThat's a rather difficult question. I can't say precisely whether there are any points of intersection between the Argentine feminist movement and the fight against environmental degradation and climate change that can be identified as a visible alliance. But it's true that many feminist groups are involved in environmental struggles against extractivism and... frackingThey are at the forefront of the fight against wildfires, against soy monoculture, and so on. In Buenos Aires, there is a new alliance between feminists and environmental groups in the fight against the privatization of public spaces along the Río de la Plata coast. We need to work toward greater collaboration and talk with environmental organizations about mutual benefits. I think feminists and other groups need to rethink their political strategies because the rise of conservative fundamentalist groups is quite alarming. While they express opposition to gender ideology, the interest of these conservative groups is to build a new and different civilization. They have conceived a profoundly conservative model, with clearly fascist features that would allow them to make systemic changes. That is extremely dangerous. What just happened in the US with Trump supporters shows that the strategy of fundamentalists is to hollow out democracy from within, using the discourse of human rights to erode and disable the structure on which human rights are based. And their communication strategies are very effective. So, it seems to me that social, environmental, and feminist movements need to collectively rethink our struggles. I'm not saying that a single, universal struggle is necessary. But we do need a certain degree of consolidation of resistance; to unify the struggle behind a common strategy. The challenge lies in ensuring that specific struggles continue to advance toward their objectives, while simultaneously developing strategies for a more comprehensive effort. Currently, activists and intellectuals across the region are reflecting on this.
[1] Ana Cecilia Dinerstein teaches sociology and critical theory, feminist and decolonial theories at the University of Bath (UK). Her research on the “global politics of hope” connects Bloch’s philosophy of hope with the autonomous praxis of social and grassroots movements. She is a member of the core group of Global Tapestry of Alternatives (https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org). Has published The Politics of Autonomy in Latin America: The Art of Organizing Hope (2015), Women Theorizing without Parachutes (compiler, 2016); Against a Closing World (co-compiler, 2019) and A World Beyond Work? (co-author, 2021) and Member of the CLACSO Working Group on States in Dispute.
[2] María Alicia Gutiérrez is a sociologist, researcher, and professor of Gender and Reproductive Health at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires. She is a member (and leader) of the National Campaign for the Right to Legal, Safe, and Free Abortion in Argentina and Co-coordinator of the CLACSO Working Group on Gender, Feminisms, and Memories in Latin America and the Caribbean.
[3] Originally published as 'The rising green tide: Fighting for reproductive justice in Argentina', in Radical Ecological Democracy on February 8, 2021: https://www.radicalecologicaldemocracy.org/the-rising-green-tide-fighting-for-reproductive-justice-in-argentina/Translation: Victoria Boano.
[4] Ana C Dinerstein and Lucía Cirmi Obón (2018). Argentina votes to legalize abortion in latest victory for global feminism. The Conversation. Recovered from: https://theconversation.com/argentina-votes-to-legalise-abortion-in-latestvictory-for-global-feminism-98299
[5] Cisne, V. Vaz Castro and G. Cavalcante de Oliveira. (2018) Unsafe abortion: a patriarchal and racialized picture of women's poverty. Katálysis, vol. 21, no. 3, p. 452-470, set./dez.
[6] See the former president's inaugural address (2018): https://www.abc.es/internacional/abci-macri-partidario-abrir-debate-sobre-despenalizacion-aborto-201803020144_noticia.html
[7] Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/jun/04/niunamenos-five-years-on-latin-america-as-deadly-as-ever-for-women-say-activists
[8] Ana Cecilia Dinerstein and Lucía Cirmi Obón (2018). 'Argentina votes to legalize abortion in latest victory for global feminism. The Conversation. Recovered from: https://theconversation.com/argentina-votes-to-legalise-abortion-in-latestvictory-for-global-feminism-98299
[9] M. Chesney-Lind and S. Tonmia Hadi (2017). Patriarchy, Abortion, and the Criminal System: Policing Female Bodies. Women & Criminal Justice 27(1):73-88. Doihttps://doi.org/10.1080/08974454.2016.1259601
[10] Barbara Sutton (2019). Thinking about Reproductive Justice. Recovered from: https://www.albany.edu/sites/default/files/2019-06/REVISED-FINALThinkingReprodJustice%20%28Sutton%29.pdf
[11] Ana Cecilia Dinerstein and Sarah Amsler (2917). Women on the Verge: The Essence of feminist struggle. ROAR Magazine. Accessible: https://roarmag.org/essays/women-on-the-verge
[12] An example can be found in this interview with María Alicia Gutiérrez: 'Who are the new Celestes and their secular rhetoric,' published in page 12 December 28, 2020: https://www.pagina12.com.ar/313972-quienes-son-los-nuevos-celestes-y-su-retorica-laica
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