The Drug That’s Transforming Abortion in Argentina
In a country where abortion is being hotly debated, a pharmaceutical alternative is emerging
When Camila Sigales found out she was pregnant, she felt like her world was falling apart. At 19, she had plans for the future, and those plans did not yet include motherhood. Unfortunately, in Argentina, that wasn’t sufficient grounds for her to get a legal abortion: Here, women, girls, and trans or nonbinary people can only legally end a pregnancy if they were raped or their health is at risk.
Camila did what almost half a million women do each year in Argentina: She had a clandestine abortion. She did it at home, accompanied by her mother, using some pills her mother and stepfather had gotten ahold of. “It was a question of putting the pills in my vagina, lying down, staying calm, and waiting,” she said. “I was comfortable, but I could feel the contractions that the medication produced.”
She suffered no complications, but it was a difficult topic for a long time. “I didn’t speak about it for a year and a half,” Camila said.
On June 14, Argentine deputies narrowly passed a bill legalizing abortion in the first 14 weeks for any reason. The final count was 129 in favor and 125 against, following a marathon session of around 22…