After months of heated debate, a bill to legalize abortion in Argentina was rejected. Currently, abortion is only legal in cases of rape or if the mother’s life is at risk.

The bill, which would have allowed abortions during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, would have made Argentina the largest Latin American nation to legalize abortion.

Abortion is banned or only allowed in rare instances in nearly all of Latin America.

Abortion activists hoped the bill would mark the beginning of a change in abortion laws throughout Latin America.

In the end, lawmakers voted against the bill in a 38-31 vote with two abstentions and one absentee.

Because of the bill’s defeat, lawmakers must wait until next year to resubmit legislation.