Argentina, with its first-class LGBTQ+ rights and its failure to legalise abortion, proves an uncomfortable theory about progress

The Latin American country outlawed gay conversion therapy long before the UK, yet lags behind when it comes to abortion rights: these things are rarely black and white

We must stand in solidarity with others at times like these – stand with all those in Argentina who are being denied the basic human right to be able to make their own choices over their own bodies. (Getty)

Last year, Argentina opened the first subway station in the world to be named after an LGBTQ+ activist. Based in Buenos Aires, the station honours the late Carlos Jauregui, one of the most prominent LGBTQ+ rights activists in Argentina in the 80s and 90s. Carlos was part of a wider community of queer and trans people who threw themselves into making the country what it is today. He led the first Pride parade in Buenos Aires in 1992, helped found queer liberation group the Homosexual Community of Argentina (CHA) and was loud and open about being gay – despite the danger it put him in.

Like many queer people, he was taken from us long before his time by Aids, which also claimed his brother and partner. The station dedicated to him was approved unanimously by the city legislature, with then mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta expressing how “proud” he was of the project. With a rainbow-coloured staircase and arty wall murals honouring the Argentine queer and trans community, it’s a beautiful physical embodiment of Argentina’s long-time commitment to LGBTQ+ rights.

Of course, no country is perfect when it comes to treating queer and trans people equally – that is just the hard truth of living in a heteronormative, cisnormative world. But many countries, particularly the USA and those in Europe – who often stand on a high horse and look down their noses at Latin American countries when it comes to progressive values – could learn a lot from Argentina when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights. While my home country, the UK, only just last month decided to make gay conversion therapy illegal – Argentina has outlawed it since 2010.

After the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, USA, gay and bisexual men watched their friends and partners suffer and die without being able to donate a drop of blood because of discriminatory laws that prevented them from doing so simply because of their sexual orientation – if the hateful massacre had happened in Argentina, this wouldn’t have been the case.

Argentina was the first country in Latin America and one of the first in the world to legalise same-sex marriage, and has some of the best transgender rights there are. Once again I look to the UK – where the government are currently having a long debate about whether trans people should be allowed to change their gender without having to wait a minimum of two years and prove to a panel of people they’ve never met that they are “trans enough”. Our politicians are very hesitant to treat trans people’s lives with equal value, whilst in Argentina, the Gender Identity Law has legally recognised and accepted trans people since 2012 – the country was branded by the World Health organisation as “exemplary” when it comes to trans people’s rights.

I’m not claiming that Argentina is perfect – there is still discrimination, hate and fear, just like anywhere. But when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights, it has a pretty solid track record.

So what has gone so wrong with abortion rights? Today politicians in Argentina voted to keep abortion illegal – compromising the rights of women, non-binary people and trans men, many of whom at some point in their life might need an abortion. It’s a sad day – and particularly disappointing because it shows that just because a country may be progressive in some ways, that doesn’t necessarily translate across the field – these things are rarely black and white.

It’s a reminder to us all that we should never look at a country and make judgements about policies in one area, then transfer this to all. As mentioned earlier, the US and European countries are often the first to point to how “progressive” many of their policies are – and look down on other countries that they regard as being less so. But just like Argentina really needs to work on its abortion rights, the USA really needs to sort out its racism, Denmark needs to stop being Islamophobic, the UK needs to get its act together when it comes to disabled rights, to give just a few examples – and all of these places could look to Argentina and learn how to treat LGBTQ+ people much better.

It’s important that we stand in solidarity with others at times like these – stand with all those in Argentina who are being denied the basic human right to be able to make their own choices over their own bodies.

But it’s also important that we look back to ourselves – what could we, personally, be doing better in our day to day lives? How can we make life better for groups discriminated against on our own streets, in our homes, in our workplaces? We must never become complacent. As a queer, non-binary person who will very likely never be pregnant, my rights would be far better in Argentina. But for those who might become pregnant in Argentina, the UK probably currently looks like a much better option. Let’s not forget the Republic of Ireland only legalised abortion a few months ago, and it’s still illegal in Northern Ireland.

As mentioned before, these things are rarely simple – but the concept of solidarity is. I’m standing by those in Argentina whose rights aren’t yet won, and I’m sure many of them will be standing by queer and trans people in countries whose lives will be worse off than those in Argentina.