Argentina

In Argentina, the third Sunday of October is the Dia de la Madre (Mother's Day). Mother's Day is a special day because in this culture, mothers are elevated to a position of respect and admiration. In the past, mothers were relegated to stay home with children. However, Argentina's history of motherhood shows a remarkable trend in mothers leaving the traditional role in the private realm to secure political platforms in the public arena. The cultural norms of motherhood have changed, and motherhood has become a more modern institution, one in which holds the role of worker, politician and activist, and currently, president.

Argentina is the second-largest country in South America. The population is roughly 40 million, and an estimated 92 percent are Roman Catholics. Approximately two children are born per woman, and the birth rate is approximately 18 births per 1,000 women, with an infant mortality rate of around 12 per 1,000 live births. Abortions are illegal in Argentina, yet an estimated 450,000 abortions are practiced each year. One of the most profound changes in motherhood in this country is in the area of birth control practices and laws. In 2009, the Argentine Congress passed a reproductive health law that provides for free birth control methods and advice to women nationwide. Promotion of birth control had been previously forbidden by the government of Argentina, although in 2001, the Chamber of Deputies originally passed the bill with slight modifications. In 1974, a government executive decree had ordered all family planning institutions to be closed, and oral contraceptive pills were prescribed only if a physician found absolute medical indications and then only on a special prescription in triplicate. This previous decree called for the Minister of Social Welfare to carry out a study in Argentina of all possible means to counteract the supposedly alarming demographic situation in Argentina. The current bill was opposed by the Catholic Church, an institution that holds much political power in Argentina, that based its opposition to the bill on the argument that it encouraged abortion, the use of “abortive” birth control methods, and state meddling in the question of sex education among minors.