Configurations of secularism in debates about the legalization of abortion in Argentina: Parliamentary and feminist discourses (2015-2018)

Abstract

This article explores the configurations of secularism present in the parliamentary debate on the voluntary termination of pregnancy bill in 2018, and in some specific areas of feminist activism in which secularism is discussed and promoted, collected in the period between 2015 and 2018. Based on the official transcriptions of the speeches of deputies and senators during the debates as well as participant observation in national and regional women's and feminist gatherings, we analyze the ideas that emerge in relation to the State, churches, religions, spiritualities and democracy when sexual and reproductive rights are discussed. The results confirm our hypothesis regarding the expansion of the discourse on secularism in both Chambers during 2018, with different definitions and intensities, as well as the amplification of support for existing feminist campaigns for a secular State and, in parallel, new problematizations regarding the confluence of a feminist identity with religious and/or spiritual identity.