Latin American activists undeterred despite US abortion rollback

Feminists in Latin America have long understood their struggle for abortion rights to know no borders.

So when the United States Supreme Court decision that stripped women of their right to an abortion in the country became official last week, the blow was personal across North and South America.

The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn that landmark 1973 ruling that had protected a woman’s right to an abortion has sent shock waves around the world.

Latin America has some of the harshest laws against abortion in the world, most often rooted in religious doctrine.

Mexico’s Supreme Court decriminalised abortion in 2021, although it remains heavily restricted in most states, and earlier this year Colombia’s constitutional court decriminalised abortion in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy.

“Obviously the United States, for better or for worse, has always been a leader for the region and a decision like this is very negative, but we have the strong example of our friends in Argentina, and in Colombia, and now this constitutional process in Chile that shows that there is an air of positivity in Latin America,” she said.

Rosana Fanjul, a member of Argentina’s legal abortion campaign, said the US Supreme Court decision reinforces the importance of enshrining the right in law rather than relying on court decisions.

The Supreme Court decision filled her with “humility”, she told Al Jazeera, “that no victory is ever complete.” But she said it also reaffirmed the approach of activists in Latin America to fight for every right every day, even when the odds are stacked against them