Abortion law suspended in Argentinian province.
The recently enacted Pregnancy voluntary interruption law had this Thursday its first setback in the northern Chaco Province, where a judge decided to suspend the law due to a cautionary measure filed by a conservative group.
Judge Marta Aucar, of the Court N° 19 of Chaco, decided to “sustain the cautionary measure filed” and “decreed the suspension of enactment of the law” in the province territory, “until the main action is resolved”, says the verdict.
The promoters of the measure argue the pregnancy voluntary interruption law until the 14th week of pregnancy, …run contrary to the Chaco laws.
The abortion practice “restricts, undermines, violates, limits and alters the existence, the exercise of life of the unborn child, protected under our code since conception”, says the complaint.
To be enacted, this verdict must be formally notified to the Chaco Province, which may appeal the ruling.
“We are respectful of the Rule of Law and we respect the judicial process. When the time comes, we’ll respond in proper way”, reacted on Twitter Chaco Health sub-secretary Carolina Centeno.
“The PVI law is a sanctioned law by the people’s representatives. From the Provincial Government, we’ll keep pushing this right to protect women and expecting people”, said.
For lawyer Soledad Deza, the measure against the abortion law “has baseless standing, it’s doomed to fail”.
Consulted by AFP, the lawyer explained that “Argentina is a federal country, so it wouldn’t be legitimate that Chaco province had lower human rights standards than the rest of the provinces”.
“What it implies, in judicial terms, is ignoring the constitutional supremacy in our political structure”, said.
To solve the issue, the case must go through several courts, from the Court of Appeals in Chaco to the Supreme Court of Justice.
And “the paces of justice in Argentina are slow”, recognized Deza.
The lawyer fears that the case goes the same way as a similar one that occurred in the Córdoba Province, where a conservative NGO Portal de Belén managed of suspend for 7 years the exercise of pregnancy interruption in cases of rape or health risks for the mother (valid since 1921) through a judicial verdict that finally was rejected by a court.
