Bueno Aires, August 9: Argentina's Senate on Thursday rejected a proposed bill on legalising elective abortion in the country. The bill would have allowed women to terminate their pregnancy in the first 14 weeks. According to current Argentine laws, abortions can be carried out only when the mother's health is at risk or in rape cases, CNN reported. The Senate voted against the bill, 38 to 31, with two abstentions and one absentee. As the outcome of the vote was announced, demonstrators got engaged in clashes with the police outside the National Congress building in Buenos Aires.

In June, Argentine Chamber of Deputies or the lower house of Congress narrowly passed the bill 129 to 125 with one abstention. The proposed abortion bill, which was a raging issue in Argentina in the past few months, saw protestors, both in favour and against abortion taking to the streets. While the anti-abortion demonstrators protested under blue coloured "save both lives" banners, pro-abortion protestors flashed banners and wore green bandanas, loosely wrapped and tied around their necks, as per the CNN report.

Most Latin American countries permit abortions for medical reasons. There is a blanket ban on abortion in many countries such as Chile, Suriname, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, Sputnik reported. In Mexico, abortion is legal only in the nation's capital Mexico City. The voluntary termination of pregnancy is legal only in Cuba, Uruguay, Guyana and Puerto Rico.