| In disappointing news last week, senators in Argentina voted against legislation to allow elective abortion up to 14 weeks of pregnancy. Public support and the passing of the bill in a lower congressional body had brought the right to choose the farthest in the country’s legislative history, only to fall short on Aug 8. Proponents called it devastating for women’s rights but vowed to fight on. Since 1921, abortion has been legal in Argentina only when a pregnancy is the result of rape or a woman’s life is in peril. Criminalising abortion does not protect women’s health or prevent unintended or unwanted pregnancies, and nor does it stop terminations— up to 500000 abortions take place each year in Argentina, and unsafe abortion is a leading cause of maternal death. But in deeply Catholic Argentina, the Church’s influence runs deep. Catholic bishops spoke out against the bill and the Cardinal of Buenos Aires pontificated fetal rights in a mass during the legislative debate. Most disappointing is Pope Francis, the Argentinian leader of the worldwide Catholic Church, who was reported to have personally lobbied senators to spur votes against the legislation. While Pope Francis has been praised for his progressive views on some social justice issues, he deserves no credit for advancing women’s rights. Just a week before the abortion vote, the Vatican reformed its position on the death penalty, declaring it inadmissible in all cases. Thus, Pope Francis seems comfortable changing doctrine based on modernised social norms with regard to the rights of prisoners. But he offers no such accommodation to women’s reproduction. If the Catholic Church really cares about protecting lives, it would support proven interventions to prevent unintended pregnancy, such as access to contraception and sexual education, which would also lower abortion rates. |