SHOTLIST:

1. Various of the Argentine Congress from the air
2. Various of the protesters in favor of abortion at the time of the approval of the bill in the lower house
3. Various of pro-abortion protesters
4. Various of posters against abortion
5. Various of pro-abortion protesters
6. Various of the vigil of the pro-abortion protesters while the law was being discussed in Congress
7. Various of the vigil of protesters against abortion while the law was discussed in Congress
8. Various of priests at the Vigil outside the Congress
9. Various of Mass outside the Congress

STORYLINE:

Lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies approved the government's bill to legalize abortion in the early Friday morning, paving the way for a momentus vote in the Senate before the year is out.

To cheers inside the lower house and wild celebrations outside on the streets, the bill was passed with 131 votes in favor, 117 against and six abstentions.

The vote came at the end of an epic session in Congress. Lawmakers opened debate on the initiative at 11am on Thursday, with deputies continuing to put their case to the floor well past midnight and into the following morning.

Eagerly awaiting the vote, protesters from both sides of the divide gathered outside the National Congress building in scenes reminiscent of those of two years ago, when the bill passed through the lower house but was narrowly rejected by the traditionally more conservative Senate.

In Argentina, abortion is only permitted in cases of rape or danger to the woman's life, under a 1921 law.

This is the ninth time in majority-Catholic Argentina - homeland of Pope Francis - that a bill to legalize abortion has been presented in Congress.

Since the legal initiative was turned over to parliament, the bishops have been maintaining discreet contacts with senators, especially those of the ruling party, in an attempt to regain their rejection, surely tighter than two years ago.

The head of the Argentine Episcopal Conference, Monsignor Oscar Ojea, issued an unusual message to legislators on Wednesday, in which he did not casually quote Pope Francis to reject the project. Ojea is a man closely trusted by Bergoglio.

"We ask legislators before voting for a second to reflect on what respect for life means; and so many people who are going to be deprived of light and who can enrich our world and fill us with hope," says the Bishop of San Isidro in the message.

Ojea also spoke of the "culture of discarding" that Pope Francis regularly refers to, which "applies at all levels: the poorest, migrants, the elderly, the disabled, and what to say about the child. to be born in its state of total vulnerability ".

This Tuesday the bishops also took advantage of the ceremonies for the Day of the Virgin to reinforce their message, in a day of prayer that they extended throughout the country.

"Contrary to the struggle for life that united us all throughout this difficult year, we are insisted on a bill that denies the right to life of the most defenseless who live in the womb", launched the second vice president of the CEA and archbishop of Mendoza, Marcelo Colombo.

The same was done by the Archbishop of Mercedes-Luján, Monsignor Jorge Eduardo Scheining, at a mass celebrated in front of the Luján basilica. "If you think that a child in its mother's womb is a bunch of cells, the root is selfishness. The root of the evil in our world is that we have a self that is too big and puts limits on all things," he said. .

The bill allows for voluntary abortions to be carried out up to the 14th week of pregnancy.

Fernández has made some political gestures to opponents of abortion, pledging another bill, called the '1,000 Days Plan,' which would provide greater support to poorer families to avoid them having to resort to an abortion for financial reasons. That won wide support in the lower house on Friday morning, win 196 votes in favor and five absentions.

The abortion bill also allows for the conscientious objection of doctors who may refuse to carry out the procedure on religious grounds. However, they will be obliged to refer the patient for care in another hospital.

Argentine women and girls undergo between 370,000 and 520,000 clandestine abortions annually, with 39,000 hospitalizations each year, according to government statistics.

The Senate is expected to begin discussing the abortion bill in committee stage this Monday, with the upper house likely to vote on the initiative sometime between December 28 and 30.

According to a tally kept by the La Nación daily, 36 senators have said would back the bill in its current form, while 35 have said they will reject it. One senator is yet to define their position. In the event of a tie, Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, in her role as head of the Senate, would cast the deciding vote.