ARGENTINA is on course to legalise abortion after President Alberto Fernandez said that he will send a Bill to congress in the next 10 days.

If the Bill is passed, Argentina would become one of the first major Latin American countries to legalise the procedure following Cuba, Uruguay and — in some regions — Mexico.

During his first annual address to congress on Sunday, Mr Fernandez said: “The state must protect its citizens in general and women in particular.

“Society in the 21st century needs to respect the individual choice of its members to freely decide about their bodies.”

A previous Bill was defeated in 2018 amid a lack of support from then president Mauricio Macri and strong opposition from the Catholic Church.

In Colombia, an upcoming court ruling may also lead to the legalisation of abortion there in the coming days.

Ironically, the case was brought by an opponent of abortion who sought the removal of the few exceptions which currently allow terminations.

But the country’s constitutional court has decided that it will now consider whether abortion should be legalised altogether.

Paula Avila-Guillen, a Colombian lawyer and abortion rights advocate, said on Sunday: “This will be the case that makes history.”