CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION AND THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN LIFE: SITUATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF ARGENTINA

The paper reviews the Argentine legislation and jurisprudence on conscientious objection in matters related to the protection of life. First, it explains how freedom of conscience is generally recognized in Argentine law, how the rules of international law incorporated in the Constitution have operated and how the courts, especially the Supreme Court of Justice, have been receiving the objection of conscience. A more extensive development of the abortion issue is made, considering its recent legalization in Argentina, limiting the norm the exercise of the right to conscientious objection. Then, the paper addresses other issues such as euthanasia, reproductive health, and the death penalty, always starting from the central topic of the work. In the study is revealed the difficulty for the systematization of the matter, derived from the federal regime of the country.