On 30 December 2020, amid the turmoil caused by the COVID pandemic, Argentina approved the Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy Law, which legalises abortion until the fourteenth week of pregnancy. In public hospitals, the procedure is now free of charge. Prior to this milestone, which was enacted on 14 January 2021, abortion was only permitted in cases of rape or when a pregnant woman's health was at risk. The law is the result of years of activism and protests against prevailing conservatism in a country heavily influenced by the Catholic Church, led by a grassroots women's movement, known as the 'green wave', which unites many different organisations that have been working towards the same goals.