José Manuel Morán Faúndes

Conservative litigation against sexual and reproductive health policies in Argentina

In Argentina, campaigns for the recognition of sexual and reproductive rights have sparked opposition through litigation in which the dynamics of legal action have come from self-proclaimed “pro-life” NGOs, particularly since 1998, when the conservative NGO Portal de Belen successfully achieved the banning of emergency contraception through the courts. The activities of these groups, acting as a “civil arm” of religion, are focused primarily on obstructing access to legally permissible abortions and bringing about the withdrawal of a number of recognized public policies on sexual and reproductive health, particularly the 2002 National Programme for Sexual Health and Responsible Procreation. This paper analyzes the litigation strategies of these conservative NGOs and how their use of the courts in Argentina has changed over the years. It gives examples of efforts in local courts to block individual young women from accessing legal abortion following rape, despite a ruling by the National Supreme Court of Justice in 2012 that no judicial permission is required. In spite of major advances, the renewed influence of the Catholic hierarchy in the Argentine political scene with the accession of the new Pope poses challenges to the work by feminists and women’s movements to extend and consolidate sexual and reproductive rights.Abstract In Argentina, campaigns for the recognition of sexual and reproductive rights have sparked opposition through litigation in which the dynamics of legal action have come from self-proclaimed “pro-life” NGOs, particularly since 1998, when the conservative NGO Portal de Belén successfully achieved the banning of emergency contraception through the courts. The activities of these groups, acting as a “civil arm” of religion, are focused primarily on obstructing access to legally permissible abortions and bringing about the withdrawal of a number of recognized public policies on sexual and reproductive health, particularly the 2002 National Programme for Sexual Health and Responsible Procreation. This paper analyzes the litigation strategies of these conservative NGOs and how their use of the courts in Argentina has changed over the years. It gives examples of efforts in local courts to block individual young women from accessing legal abortion following rape, despite a ruling by the National Supreme Court of Justice in 2012 that no judicial permission is required. In spite of major advances, the renewed influence of the Catholic hierarchy in the Argentine political scene with the accession of the new Pope poses challenges to the work by feminists and women’s movements to extend and consolidate sexual and reproductive rights. Résumé En Argentine, les campagnes pour la reconnaissance des droits sexuels et génésiques ont provoqué l’opposition par les litiges, dans lesquels la dynamique de l’action en justice est venue d’ONG auto-proclamées « pro-vie », en particulier depuis 1998, date à laquelle l’ONG Portal de Belén a réussi à faire interdire la contraception d’urgence par les tribunaux. Ces groupes, qui opèrent comme « bras civil » de la religion, ont pour but principal d’entraver l’accès aux avortements légalement autorisés et de faire retirer plusieurs politiques publiques reconnues sur la santé sexuelle et génésique, en particulier le Programme national de 2002 pour la santé sexuelle et la procréation responsable. L’article analyse la stratégie de litige de ces ONG conservatrices et montre comment leur utilisation des tribunaux en Argentine a changé au fil des années. Il donne des exemples d’activités menées auprès des tribunaux locaux pour empêcher des jeunes femmes d’avoir accès individuellement à l’avortement légal après un viol, en dépit d’un arrêt de la Cour suprême nationale de justice de 2012 affirmant qu’aucune autorisation judiciaire n’était requise. Malgré des progrès majeurs, le regain d’influence de la hiérarchie catholique sur la scène politique argentine avec l’élection du nouveau pape complique le travail que les féministes et les mouvements de femmes accomplissent pour élargir et consolider les droits sexuels et génésiques. Resumen En Argentina, los procesos políticos por el reconocimiento de los derechos sexuales y reproductivos han suscitado oposición por medio del litigio en el cual la dinámica de la acción judicial ha surgido de las ONG autoproclamadas “pro-vida”, particularmente desde 1998, cuando la ONG conservadora Portal de Belén logró la prohibición de la anticoncepción de emergencia por medio de las cortes. Las actividades de estos grupos, que actúan como el “brazo civil” de la religión, se enfocan principalmente en obstruir el acceso a abortos permitidos por la ley y en lograr la obturación de varias políticas públicas reconocidas referentes a la salud sexual y reproductiva, en particular el Programa Nacional de Salud Sexual y Procreación Responsible, de 2002. Este artículo analiza las estrategias de litigio de estas ONG conservadoras y cómo su uso de las cortes en Argentina ha cambiado a lo largo de los años. Da ejemplos de esfuerzos por bloquear en las cortes locales el acceso de las mujeres jóvenes a servicios de aborto legal después de una violación, a pesar de una sentencia emitida en 2012 por la Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nación Argentina, que establece que no es necesario un permiso judicial. Pese a importantes avances, la renovada influencia de la jerarquía católica en la escena política argentina desde que asumió sus funciones el nuevo Papa presenta retos para el trabajo de feministas y movimientos de mujeres para ampliar y consolidar los derechos sexuales y reproductivos.

Strategies of Self-Proclaimed Pro-Life Groups in Argentina Effect of New Religious Actors on Sexual Policies

Over the past few decades political processes recognizing and broadening sexual and reproductive rights have produced a reaction from conservative sectors seeking to block those gains. Although the Catholic Church hierarchy and some Evangelical churches have led the opposition to these rights, various sectors of civil society have begun to foment resistance to pluralist sexual politics. In Argentina self-proclaimed pro-life nongovernmental organizations have become important in the local context, using channels legitimized by contemporary democracy. While they initially devoted themselves primarily to the issue of abortion through activities associated with assistencialism and cultural impact, their actions since the 1990s have diversified, entering into the politico-institutional field and aiming at other issues associated with the country’s sexual policy. The movement and religion overlap at many levels and are separate in others. The complexity of the relationship between them requires rethinking of th...Over the past few decades political processes recognizing and broadening sexual and reproductive rights have produced a reaction from conservative sectors seeking to block those gains. Although the Catholic Church hierarchy and some Evangelical churches have led the opposition to these rights, various sectors of civil society have begun to foment resistance to pluralist sexual politics. In Argentina self-proclaimed pro-life nongovernmental organizations have become important in the local context, using channels legitimized by contemporary democracy. While they initially devoted themselves primarily to the issue of abortion through activities associated with assistencialism and cultural impact, their actions since the 1990s have diversified, entering into the politico-institutional field and aiming at other issues associated with the country’s sexual policy. The movement and religion overlap at many levels and are separate in others. The complexity of the relationship between them requires rethinking of the normative frameworks through which progress on sexual and reproductive rights in Latin America is usually theorized. The separation of religion and politics under the paradigm of laicism can be insufficient to guarantee sexual pluralism in our societies. En las últimas décadas, los procesos políticos por el reconocimiento y ampliación de los derechos sexuales y reproductivos han generado la reacción de sectores conservadores que buscan obstaculizar dichas conquistas. Si bien la jerarquía católica y algunas iglesias evangélicas han protagonizado el rechazo a estos derechos, distintos sectores de la sociedad civil han comenzado también a activar una resistencia a las políticas sexuales pluralistas. En Argentina las organizaciones no-gubernamentales autodenominadas pro-vida han adquirido relevancia en el contexto local, utilizando los canales legitimados por la democracia contemporánea. Mientras las primeras se abocaron centralmente a la temática del aborto desde acciones asociadas al asistencialismo y al impacto cultural, a partir de los noventa sus acciones se han diversificado, entrando al campo político-institucional y orientándose a otros temas asociados a la política sexual del país. Este movimiento y la religión se superponen en muchos niveles y se separan en otros. La complejidad que reviste su relación implica repensar los marcos normativos mediante los cuales se ha solido teorizar el avance en los derechos sexuales y reproductivos en América Latina. La separación de la religión y la política bajo el paradigma de la laicidad puede resultar una estrategia insuficiente para garantizar el pluralismo sexual al interior de nuestras sociedades.

LA VALORACIÓN DE LA VIDA, LA SUBJETIVACIÓN DEL EMBRIÓN Y EL DEBATE SOBRE EL ABORTO: APORTES DESDE UNA PERSPECTIVA CRÍTICA

El articulo analiza criticamente la forma en la que se planteado el debate etico y juridico en torno al aborto, como un conflicto de derechos entre el embrion y la mujer, mostrando los modos en los que se ha construido la figura del embrion, como un sujeto susceptible de valoracion moral y proteccion juridica. En particular, se discute la posicion que asume al cigoto indefectiblemente como un sujeto moral, por el hecho de poseer un genoma distinto del de sus progenitores, otorgandole un estatuto juridico equivalente al de las mujeres. Asi, se establece una critica en torno al modo como esta posicion, a traves del uso de un lenguaje cientifico que se presenta como objetivo, ha tendido a invisibilizar las formas sociales y culturales que construyen la valoracion de la vida.

Contraceptivo de emergência no Chile: estruturação da sua demanda em função das variáveis socioeconômicas

In January 2010 Chilean law restored the provision of emergency contraception (morning-after pill) at public health services, after the Constitutional Court had banned its distribution in 2007. More than a year after the law went into force the Ministry of Health published, for the first time, official data on the application of this contraceptive method, a fact that opens up new possibilities for understanding its levels of demand and accessibility. This paper analyzes the demand on the national health system, evaluating the effects of three socioeconomic variables: economic status, educational level and place of residence. The results show that the average number of appointments for emergency contraception in women between the ages of 15 and 44 was 2.53 per 1,000 women. The rate was 4.27 for adolescent girls between ages 15 and 19, and only 2.1 in women aged 20-44. The highest levels of demand were seen in areas with low socio-economic indicators. In other words, a high percentage of the users were from low-income areas, many of them not having finished high school, and a high proportion lived in rural areas.