By Rocío Gómez1 
November 2023

On November 19, Argentina chose its new president through the democratic process. With a majority of almost twelve points, economist Javier Milei defeated his opponent Sergio Massa, whose left-leaning political party had been governing almost without interruption since 2003, except for a single term under Mauricio Macri. 

Javier Milei founded a new political coalition in July 2021 called “La Libertad Avanza” (LLA)2 and in two years managed to position himself as a political leader, first serving as deputy and then leading a presidential campaign. LLA upholds the liberal political ideas of Alberto Benegas Lynch Jr.3 This economist and politician defines liberalism as “unrestricted respect for the life goals of others”; whereas, according to John Locke, the most important rights are life, liberty, and property; where, if life is threatened, there is no property or freedom worth considering.4

Milei’s liberal thinking underlies his ideas of unrestricted respect for the right to life from conception. In numerous interviews during his campaign, he has presented arguments of a biological, mathematical, and moral nature on which he bases his position. Some of his statements include: 

  • “When we talk about the unborn person, we must refer not to the body, a collection of cells, or a product of pregnancy but to human life. And this is so because life and the body are two different things; my body can be mutilated and still retain human life.”5 
  • “Human life, per se, begins with conception, and it is a continuous state. And here I make a mathematical reference: we cannot allow abortion at any gestational age because all human beings in weeks 3, 9, 12, or 14 exist precisely because their continuous human state has not been interrupted. The discontinuity caused by abortion is murder, further aggravated by the familial ties.”6
  • He has often used Walter Block’s airplane example:

“Suppose I’m traveling on my plane, and I invite someone. And it turns out that in the middle of the trip, I want to exercise my property right by throwing the person I invited off the plane. No one will doubt that this is not exercising my property rights but committing homicide.” [With this fragment, he aims to dismantle the rationale for allowing abortion as the exercise of rights over one’s own body.] “It may also happen that instead of the passenger entering by my invitation, he was forced to enter, which parallels the case of abortion due to rape. Even in this case where the owner of the plane had his property right violated, that crime committed against him cannot be rectified by another crime.”7

  • The only case where abortion would be justified is in the case of a threat to the life of the mother. Non-harmful measures to the unborn should be taken first, but ultimately, we accept that, indirectly, the necessary treatments for the mother’s survival may lead to the unintended and undesired death of the unborn person.8

In Argentina, the abortion law has been in effect since December 2020. Since then, the government has promoted this practice and funded pro-abortion projects9 and programs10 as well as the partial collection of abortion data. As of 2023, the country has not only allocated over seven billion eight hundred million pesos in the budget11 to support abortion throughout the territory but has also received donations from foreign organizations and entered into agreements with the United Nations Population Fund to receive chemical abortion pills and surgical abortion supplies.12

After three years of implementing the abortion law, the government has done everything in its power to institutionalize abortion in public health agencies as well as in the social awareness through training events for medical and technical personnel13 and through its Comprehensive Sex Education program taught in schools.14

The main challenge facing the new administration is the pressure from various quarters to maintain the law as it is. Pressures come, first, from the feminist collective, represented by the “green wave” that has gained prominence in recent years. On the other hand, international organizations will exert pressure not to “retreat” from the “progress” of “safe” abortion access.15 From his campaign, Javier Milei has been attacked by the feminist movement and criticized for his “anti-rights” stance, mentioning that he would eliminate the Ministry of Women, Gender, and Diversity.16 

As shown by Javier Milei’s actions when he was a candidate, he was very clear throughout his campaign. Whenever asked about the right to life, he defended the right to life from conception to natural death. Although he also mentioned that he would proceed to repeal the law, he would first hold a referendum. For the pro-life sector, this measure was not very successful, as public opinion does not make the existence of human life in the mother’s womb more or less certain. However, he later explained that he would hold this referendum to demonstrate that the law passed by Congress does not represent his people, as strong influences from various international organizations with funded lobbying played a role in influencing the desired outcome during the legislative debate.17

Also, in choosing his running mate, Victoria Villarruel, Milei took care that Villarruel shared his platform of defending life. She, too, during her campaign, was very clear about protecting life.18

Regarding ministerial measures announced during his campaign, he proposes to eliminate the Ministry of Women, Gender, and Diversity, one of the main ministries responsible for indoctrination regarding sexual and reproductive rights. 

While Milei will announce the final selections for his cabinet on December 10, names and possible appointments are being considered. So far, it is certain about the appointment of Mariano Cúneo Libarona as Minister of Justice. And in this regard, the only possible appointment that raises doubts is that of a judge of the Supreme Court whose position is currently vacant. Ivana Bloch, who would occupy this position, currently serves as secretary of the Supreme Court. Her position in favor of the decriminalization of abortion is publicly known.19 The Corporation of Catholic Lawyers has sent a letter to Dr. Mariano Cúneo Libarona, expressing concern about the news of the possible nomination of Dr. Ivana Bloch as a judge of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation. 

However, four days after being elected, Milei, along with his running mate, Villarruel, signed the declaration addressed to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, demanding that the American Declaration of Human Rights ratified by our country not be manipulated and that the facts in the case Beatriz v. El Salvador not be distorted.20

Argentina’s economic situation is pressing, and the announced measures will require a great effort from the state and citizens to implement and make them work. To advance his government plan, he will need to approve countless laws that pave the way for the fulfillment of his policies. The possible referendum and repeal of Law 27.610 on elective abortion are not a priority at the moment. 

It remains to be seen how the interaction between his plans and their implementation in Argentina will unfold.

To read this report in Spanish, translate our website using the translate option within the side menu, or download it here.

  1. Lawyer. Senior Fellow Latin America. Americans United for Life. ↩︎
  2. Official website of the coalition: https://lalibertadavanza.com.ar ↩︎
  3. Both Alberto Benegas Lynch Jr. and his father are considered by Milei as great political scientists and staunch supporters of liberal ideas. More about the relationship between Milei and Benegas Lynch available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertie_Benegas_Lynch ↩︎
  4. Statements in an interview with LN+ available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wus7IVmuWo&t=14s Minute 1:51 ↩︎
  5. Ibid. Minute 2:20 ↩︎
  6. Ibid. Minute 2:37 ↩︎
  7. Ibid. Minute 4:13 ↩︎
  8. Cf. Interview with LN+. Minute 6:09. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wus7IVmuWo&t=14s ↩︎
  9. Proyecto Mirar, which aims to monitor the statistics of abortion law 27.610. It is funded by CEDES, which in turn is financed by the institutional contribution by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Productive Innovation. Information available at: https://proyectomirar.org.ar/quienes-somos/ ↩︎
  10. IVE Program. Available at: https://bancos.salud.gob.ar/recurso/protocolo-para-la-atencion-integral-de-las-personas-con-derecho-la-interrupcion-voluntaria ↩︎
  11. General Budget Law of the National Administration for the Fiscal Year 2023. Page 110. The total allocated for the implementation of law 27.610 was 33,030 million pesos: https://www.economia.gob.ar/onp/documentos/presutexto/proy2023/mensaje/mensaje2023.pdf ↩︎
  12. Proyecto Mirar. ANNUAL REPORT 2022: THE DIRECTION OF THE ARGENTINE EXPERIENCE WITH LEGAL ABORTION. PAGE 18. AVAILABLE AT: https://repositorio.cedes.org/bitstream/123456789/4729/5/9789874886255_esp.pdf ↩︎
  13. Annual Management Report 2022. Page 34 https://bancos.salud.gob.ar/sites/default/files/2023-05/Informe_de_gestion_2022_852023.pdf ↩︎
  14. Material for ESI Referees in Secondary Education. Page 152. http://www.bnm.me.gov.ar/giga1/documentos/EL007797.pdf ↩︎
  15. We use quotes because the decriminalization of abortion is not a setback, and its repeal is not progress. And as we have mentioned, the fact that it is legal does not make it safe. ↩︎
  16. Feminist collectives express their opposition to the new president’s position. Available at: https://www.pagina12.com.ar/652821-milei-presidente-los-temores-en-feminismos-y-diversidades ↩︎
  17. Todo Noticias Interview: Javier Milei, “Abortion was not voted on cleanly.” Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_fGl_jvJQc ↩︎
  18. Statements by Victoria Villarruel: “Javier Milei and I are pro-life. The law was approved very much against society’s wishes. Congress passed it, yes, but it was to balance very important forces. I am a staunch defender of life, and I believe that this law has been disastrous for the Argentine Republic. If it were up to me, I think it should be repealed.” Available at: https://www.perfil.com/noticias/cordoba/los-votos-de-encuentro-vecinal-en-la-mira-de-la-libertad-avanza.phtml ↩︎
  19. Statements by Ivana Bloch in favor of abortion available at: https://www.notivida.org/boletines/1342_.html ↩︎
  20. Victoria Villarruel’s social media post: Victoria Villarruel on X: “Today we signed with @JMilei the declaration addressed to @CorteIDH demanding that the letter of the American Declaration of Human Rights ratified by our country not be manipulated and the facts in the case Beatriz vs El Salvador not be distorted. #FrenemosElAborto #AmericaLatinaEsProvida https://t.co/LGJXiPBbkK / X (twitter.com) 
    Full text of the declaration: https://www.republicamediagroup.com/media/2023/03/pdf/declaracion-firmas.pdf  ↩︎

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