Argentina: Senator proposes remote voting for pregnant lawmakers

Senator Anabel Fernández Sagasti has introduced a legislative proposal that would permit pregnant senators, under specific medical conditions, to participate in sessions and cast votes remotely. The initiative comes after Fernández Sagasti, a senator for Unión por la Patria (UxP), was barred from participating in a debate on private property law last Thursday due to her advanced pregnancy.

“

I presented a project to modify the Senate's regulations: that exclusively senators with medical contraindications for travel due to pregnancy can participate and vote remotely.

Fernández Sagasti, who is 32 weeks pregnant, had initially sought exceptional authorization to participate virtually, based on strict medical advice prohibiting her travel to Buenos Aires. While Vice President Victoria Villarruel had issued a decree to allow her remote participation, the measure required validation from the full Senate body. During the session, Patricia Bullrich, the head of the La Libertad Avanza (LLA) bloc, moved to block the remote vote, citing procedural rules and proposing the issue be discussed in a committee.

The Senate ultimately sided with Bullrich's motion, invalidating the remote voting benefit for Fernández Sagasti. In response, the senator announced on social media platform X that she had submitted a project to amend the Senate's regulations. Her proposal is narrowly focused, requiring medical certification of pregnancy risks and travel contraindications, aiming to prevent any province from losing representation due to such circumstances.

“

It is a unique, objective, and limited criterion: medical certification that proves risk of pregnancy and contraindication of travel. It is not an open door to any request. It is a specific exception, for a specific situation. That no province be left without part of its representation due to a situation like this. Distance cannot be a reason for a people to lose its voice in a key vote.

Fernández Sagasti emphasized that her case is not unique and that the Senate has previously allowed virtual sessions, citing the pandemic period with the Supreme Court's approval. She stressed that the legislation is not about her specific seat but aims to ensure that no future senator must choose between their pregnancy and their duty to represent their constituents. The proposal seeks to provide a clear, objective, and limited exception for situations where a senator's health prevents them from attending in person.

“

This is not about my seat. It is so that in the future no senator has to choose between her pregnancy and the representation of her people.