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Abortion in Argentina is strictly limited by law. Until 2007 there were no confirmed figures of performed abortions; health authorities estimated 500,000 per year (40% of all pregnancies), in most cases presumably illegal and often outside proper sanitary conditions. Around 80,000 patients per year are hospitalized due to post-abortion complications (and must face legal punishment). Many failed abortion attempts and deaths due to them are not recorded as such and/or are not notified to the authorities.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Argentina: Limits on Birth Control Threaten Human Rights )〕〔 〕 A complete scientific study of abortion (the first of its kind in Argentina), commissioned by the Ministry of Health and performed by several independent organizations, was released in June 2007. Using indirect methods on figures from the National Health and Nutrition Survey and combining them with data from healthcare facilities, the study concluded with a minimum figure of 460,000 and a maximum of 615,000 voluntary abortions per year (around 60 abortions per 1,000 women). The researchers assumed that for every woman that seeks medical help due to complications of abortion, seven others do not. ==Legal and political debate== The Constitution of Argentina does not establish specific provisions for abortion, but the 1994 reform added constitutional status for a number of international pacts, such as the Pact of San José, which declares the right to life "in general, from the moment of conception". The interpretation of the expression "in general" in certain cases of abortion is still subject to debate. In 1998, after a visit to the Vatican and an interview with Pope John Paul II, President Carlos Menem passed a decree declaring 25 March the Day of the Unborn Child. The date was due to the Catholic Holy Day of the Annunciation (that is, the conception, by the Blessed Virgin Mary, of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in her womb). The Menem administration had already aligned with the Holy See in its complete rejection of abortion and contraception. During the first celebration of the new holiday, in 1999, the President stated that "the defense of life" was "a priority of () foreign policy".〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Speech by President Menem during the commemoration of the Day of the Unborn Child )〕 President Fernando de la Rúa (1999–2001) was not outspoken about its Catholic belief and its influence in government policies, but effectively kept them unchanged. President Néstor Kirchner (elected in 2003) professes the Catholic faith but is considered more progressive than his predecessors. In 2005, Health Minister Ginés González García publicly stated his support for the legalization of abortion. Kirchner did neither support nor criticize González García's opinion in public. In a private interview, later, he assured that the law regarding abortion would not be changed during his term. In any case, harsh criticism from the Catholic Church soon shifted the focus to a "war of words" between the religious hierarchy and the national government. Carmen Argibay, the first woman ever to be appointed to the Supreme Court of Argentina by a democratic government, also caused great controversy as she admitted her support for abortion rights. Pro-life organizations, led by the Catholic Church, expressed their opposition to the appointment for this cause.〔 〕 In May 2006 the government made public a project to reform the Penal Code, which includes the de-criminalization of abortion. A commission studied the issue and produced a draft, intended to be presented to Congress. The project was signed by the Secretary of Criminal Policy and Penitentiary Affairs, Alejandro Slokar. On 28 May 2007, a group of 250 NGOs forming the National Campaign for Legal, Safe and Free Abortion presented a draft legislative bill to the Argentine Chamber of Deputies that would provide unrestricted access to abortion on demand up to the 12th week of pregnancy, and allow women to abort after that time in cases of rape, grave fetal malformations and mental or physical risk to the woman. In March 2012 the supreme court has ruled that abortion in case of rape or threat to women's life is legal and that an affidavit of being raped is enough to allow a legal abortion. It also ruled that provincial governments should write protocols for the request and treatment of legal abortions in case of rape or life threat〔http://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/elpais/1-189566-2012-03-14.html〕〔http://www.cij.gov.ar/scp/index.php?p=interior-nota&nid=8754〕 To date though, no formal legislative debate about abortion has been conducted in Argentina.〔 〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Abortion in Argentina」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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