Contraception
Law 25.673 of 2002 created the Programa Nacional de Salud Sexual y Procreación Responsable (national programme for sexual health and responsible parenthood), which requires contraceptives to be distributed free of charge in the public system and obliges obras sociales and prepagas to cover them at 100 % under the Programa Médico Obligatorio (PMO, the compulsory basic package of care). Law 26.130 of 2006 recognises the right of any adult to tubal ligation and vasectomy, without the spouse's authorisation and without any condition as to children. The Código Civil y Comercial (Civil and Commercial Code) of 2015 allows adolescents aged 13 to 16 to decide on non-invasive treatments, and those of 16 and over on all treatments. The national programme distributes the contraceptive implant free of charge, with priority for adolescents, alongside the pill, injections, the IUD (DIU) and condoms.
For British and Irish residents the Argentine system looks familiar: contraception is free in the public system, as it is on the NHS, and every method — pill, injection, IUD, implant — is covered in full by any obra social or prepaga, with no co-payment and no restriction on the brand prescribed; sterilisation is a right from 18, with no condition as to the number of children and without the partner's consent. Argentina made contraceptives free for all in the public system in 2003, and the implant, given first to adolescents, has become the symbol of the national programme. A resident with a job usually goes through the employer's obra social; otherwise the neighbourhood primary care centre (centro de atención primaria de la salud, CAPS) gives advice and a method free of charge.
The usual pills are the same molecules as in the UK and Ireland, sold under other brand names, and hormonal methods need a prescription at the pharmacy: for regular supplies, get an Argentine one from a doctor, the health centre or the obra social rather than relying on a UK prescription. Visitors who are not insured in Argentina pay for the pill at the pharmacy and can buy the emergency pill there without prescription. Since 2024, cuts to the national programme have made implants and emergency pills scarcer in some public centres, and several provinces have made up the shortfall with their own purchases.
Key points
| Cover | Free in the public system; 100 % with obras sociales and prepagas, including the IUD, the implant and injections |
|---|---|
| Prescription | Needed at the pharmacy for hormonal methods; the emergency pill is sold without prescription |
| Minors | From 13, non-invasive methods without the parents; from 16, all methods |
| Sterilisation | Tubal ligation and vasectomy free from 18, without conditions (Law 26.130) |
| Implant | Distributed free by the national programme, with priority for adolescents |
| Use | More than 80 % of sexually active women use a method; the pill and the condom dominate, the implant and the IUD are growing |
| British and Irish residents | Same rights as Argentines through the public system or Argentine cover; UK pills available under other brand names |
In practice
- Go to the primary care centre (CAPS) or a public hospital: advice and a method on the same day; the emergency pill is handed out without prescription.
- With an obra social or a prepaga, the doctor's prescription entitles you to the contraceptive at the pharmacy without any co-payment (100 % cover under the PMO); keep the prescription and the receipt in case of refusal.
- The implant is fitted at the health centre, the IUD at the centre or in hospital; tubal ligation and vasectomy are requested at a public hospital or through the obra social or prepaga, after information and written informed consent, with no legal waiting period.
- Adolescents may come alone from 13; the team may not require the parents to be present.
- Call the Ministry of Health's line, 0800 222 3444, to find the nearest facility.
Cost and coverage
Free in the public system and without co-payment with an obra social or prepaga. At your own expense at the pharmacy, 5,000 to 20,000 pesos a month depending on the product; emergency pill 3,000 to 8,000 pesos. Contraception is free on the NHS in the UK, but NHS cover does not extend to Argentina.
Recent changes
The national programme has suffered cuts since 2024 (fewer purchases of implants and emergency pills); several provinces make up for them with their own purchases. The compulsory cover by obras sociales and prepagas has not changed.
Where to go
- Public health centres (CAPS) and hospitals: sexual health consultations.
- Ministry of Health sexual health line: 0800 222 3444.
- Superintendencia de Servicios de Salud: complaints about cover (0800 222 72583).
- AMADA (Asociación Médica Argentina de Anticoncepción, the Argentine medical association for contraception): information for the public; British Embassy in Buenos Aires: consular assistance; Irish citizens: Embassy of Ireland in Buenos Aires.
Worth knowing
An obra social or prepaga may neither charge a co-payment nor restrict the brand of contraceptive prescribed: 100 % cover is a legal obligation, and the Superintendencia sanctions breaches. Keep the prescription and the receipt in case of refusal. And since the 2024 cuts, implants and emergency pills can run short in some public centres: ask, or try another centre.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get my usual UK pill in Argentina?
Almost always, under another brand name: Argentine pharmacies sell the same molecules (levonorgestrel with ethinylestradiol, desogestrel, drospirenone, progestogen-only pills), and the pharmacist will find the equivalent from the active ingredients on your box or leaflet. Hormonal methods need a prescription at the pharmacy: a resident gets one free at the health centre or through the obra social or prepaga, which then pays for the pill in full.
Is sterilisation really available from 18?
Yes. Law 26.130 of 2006 makes it a right of every adult, without the spouse's or partner's authorisation, without conditions as to age or number of children and without a legal waiting period, after written informed consent; it is free in the public system and covered at 100 % by obras sociales and prepagas. If a doctor objects, the hospital must arrange for another practitioner.
Can a teenager get contraception without her parents?
Yes: from 13 for the pill, condoms, the implant and the emergency pill ('non-invasive' methods within the meaning of the Código Civil y Comercial), and from 16 for all methods; health centres see her alone and free of charge. The approach is close to the UK's, where under-16s can receive contraception confidentially if they understand the advice (the Fraser guidelines).
Sources
- Law 25.673 — sexual health and responsible parenthood — official text
- Law 26.130 — surgical contraception — official text
- Ministry of Health — contraceptive methods — information and facilities
- Superintendencia de Servicios de Salud — complaints about cover
The general article: Contraception · Compare with another country
Abortion
Abortion on request up to and including the fourteenth week since January 2021 (Law 27.610), and with no time limit after rape or where the pregnancy endangers life or health; carried out within ten days of the request, free in the public system and without any co-payment with obras sociales (health insurance funds) and prepagas (private health insurers). The law sets no condition of nationality: British and Irish women in Argentina are entitled to it like anyone else.
| IVE | Up to and including the fourteenth week, on request, without having to give reasons |
|---|---|
| ILE | No time limit after rape (a sworn statement is enough) or where life or integral health is at risk |
| Time to treatment | Ten calendar days at most from the request |
Full detail: Abortion
Drugs and controlled substances
Law 23.737 punishes possession for personal use with one month to two years, but the Supreme Court held this unconstitutional in 2009 (Arriola) where it does not affect third parties, and most courts follow that ruling; medical cannabis and home-growing are regulated (Law 27.350, REPROCANN), alcohol is sold from 18, and the drink-driving limit has been zero on national roads since 2023 — against 0.8 g/l in England and Wales and 0.5 in Scotland and Ireland.
Law 23.737 (1989) punishes trafficking with 4 to 15 years, simple possession (tenencia simple) with 1 to 6 years, and possession for personal use (tenencia para consumo personal) with 1 month to 2 years, which can be replaced by treatment (article 14, second paragraph). In 2009, in the Arriola judgment, the Supreme Court held that punishing possession for personal use in private, without harm to third parties, violates article 19 of the Constitution, and the federal courts apply that doctrine case by case, although the law has not been reformed and arrests for possession still run to tens of thousands a year. Law 27.350 (2017) regulated the medical use of cannabis, and Decree 883/2020 created the REPROCANN, a register that authorises patients and 'solidarity growers' (cultivadores solidarios) to grow up to nine plants and to carry up to 40 grams; Law 27.669 (2022) created the medical cannabis and hemp industry, with its regulatory agency (ARICCAME). Recreational cannabis is not regulated. Law 24.788 (1997) prohibits the sale of alcohol to under-18s; Law 27.714 (2023) set a zero blood alcohol limit on national roads, adopted by most provinces (previously 0.5 g/l, 0.2 for motorcyclists and zero for professional drivers); Law 27.302 (2016) increased the penalties for trafficking in precursor chemicals. The Sedronar (the national secretariat for drug policy) coordinates prevention and treatment.
The Argentine paradox — a law that punishes use, a Supreme Court that forbids punishing it — has no equivalent in the UK or Ireland, where possession of cannabis remains an offence even at home (in the UK a class B drug, with up to five years' imprisonment). In practice, a discreet user in Buenos Aires risks little more than an unpleasant police check; a user in the street, especially if young and poor, risks arrest, a trip to the police station and proceedings dropped months later. The REPROCANN, with its hundreds of thousands of registrations, has become in practice the legal gateway to growing cannabis — but through an Argentine doctor: a UK prescription for cannabis-based medicine, available from specialists in the UK since 2018, is of no use in Argentina, and bringing cannabis into the country, even with a foreign prescription, exposes the traveller to prosecution for trafficking.
For British and Irish residents and visitors, two practical rules. Argentine law applies to them as to everyone, and the British Embassy in Buenos Aires can neither obtain anyone's release nor intervene in the proceedings: it can visit a detained national, inform the family and provide a list of lawyers; Irish citizens turn to the Embassy of Ireland in Buenos Aires. And the zero alcohol limit, now the rule in almost the whole country, catches out drivers used to 0.8 g/l in England and Wales or 0.5 in Scotland and Ireland: a single beer or glass of wine is enough. Trafficking, for its part, leads to heavy sentences and long pre-trial detention, notably for those arrested at Ezeiza and Córdoba airports.
Key points
| Possession for personal use | 1 month to 2 years (Law 23.737, article 14); unconstitutional in private without harm to third parties (Supreme Court, Arriola 2009); law not reformed |
|---|---|
| Trafficking | 4 to 15 years; simple possession 1 to 6 years |
| Medical cannabis | Law 27.350 (2017); REPROCANN: authorised growing (up to nine plants, 40 g carried) for patients and solidarity growers |
| Recreational cannabis | Not regulated; bills stalled |
| Alcohol | No sale to under-18s; zero blood alcohol on national roads and in most provinces (Law 27.714, 2023); 0.5 g/l where provinces have not adopted it |
| Figures | 8 % of adults used cannabis in the past year (Sedronar 2022); alcohol is the most problematic substance; high cocaine use in the Southern Cone |
| British and Irish nationals | Argentine law applies; consular visits and lists of lawyers, no intervention in proceedings; a UK cannabis prescription is not valid; zero alcohol at the wheel against 0.8 g/l (England and Wales) or 0.5 (Scotland, Ireland) |
In practice
- Possession of small amounts in private should not lead to a conviction since Arriola, but arrest, transfer to the police station and proceedings are common, especially in public places: the federal public defence service invokes the ruling systematically. If you are arrested, sign nothing without a lawyer and ask for the British Embassy (or, for Irish citizens, the Embassy of Ireland) to be informed.
- Patients with a medical indication register with the REPROCANN (online, with a participating doctor) to grow, or to be linked legally to a solidarity grower; registration was tightened in 2024.
- With the zero limit in most of the country, a single drink before driving is an infringement (fine, impounding of the vehicle and withdrawal of the licence, a UK or Irish licence included); check the provincial rule. Checks are frequent on the roads out of Buenos Aires and on the coast roads in summer.
- The Sedronar (line 141, free, 24 hours) refers people to public treatment centres and to the Casas de Atención y Acompañamiento Comunitario (community care and support centres); private therapeutic communities are regulated.
- Intercambios, ARDA and RESET work on harm reduction and test substances at festivals. Never carry a parcel or a suitcase for someone else through an Argentine airport: trafficking carries 4 to 15 years.
Cost and coverage
Treatment is free in the public network and covered by obras sociales (health insurance funds) under Law 26.657 on mental health; REPROCANN registration is free; drink-driving fines run from 30,000 to 300,000 pesos depending on the province. The federal public defence service is free; the British Embassy does not pay legal costs, fines or bail.
Recent changes
Law 27.714 (2023) imposed zero blood alcohol nationwide; the REPROCANN passed 300,000 registrations; the government elected in 2023 has hardened its tone, restricted the REPROCANN in 2024 and scaled back the Sedronar without reforming Law 23.737; the Supreme Court maintains Arriola.
Where to go
- Sedronar — line 141 (24 hours, free): guidance and treatment.
- REPROCANN (argentina.gob.ar/reprocann): medical cannabis register.
- Defensoría General de la Nación (the federal public defence service): defence in possession cases; Intercambios Asociación Civil and RESET: information and harm reduction.
- British Embassy in Buenos Aires: consular support for detained British nationals; Irish citizens: Embassy of Ireland in Buenos Aires; Prisoners Abroad (UK) and the Irish Council for Prisoners Overseas: support for prisoners and their families; Talk to Frank in the UK.
Worth knowing
The Arriola ruling protects you in court, not in the street: possession remains an offence on the statute book, and the police arrest for it. The REPROCANN gives patients legal certainty, but growing without registration is potential trafficking. And zero alcohol applies in almost the whole country: one drink is enough — for a British or Irish driver, it is the most tangible change.
Frequently asked questions
Is smoking a joint legal in Buenos Aires?
Neither fully legal nor really punished: possession for personal use remains an offence in the law, but the Supreme Court forbids punishing it when it takes place in private without harm to third parties. In the street or in a park the police may arrest you and open proceedings, which are almost always dropped; at home nobody prosecutes. Buying, on the other hand, feeds a trade punished with 4 to 15 years, and the seller risks far more than the buyer. Note the contrast with home: in the UK and Ireland, possession is an offence even in private.
What does a British national arrested with drugs at the airport risk?
It depends on the quantity and on how the case is classified: a few grams for personal use fall under Arriola and usually end with the case being dropped; a quantity intended for trafficking, or an attempt to take drugs out of the country, leads to pre-trial detention and then to a sentence of 4 to 15 years, as for anyone. The British Embassy can visit you, inform your family and provide a list of lawyers, but cannot obtain your release, interfere in the case or pay your legal costs; the charity Prisoners Abroad supports British nationals detained overseas and their families.
What is the drink-driving limit in Argentina?
Zero on all national roads since 2023 and in most provinces, which have adopted Law 27.714; 0.5 g/l (0.2 for motorcyclists, zero for professional drivers) in the few provinces that have not yet done so. That is stricter than anywhere in the UK or Ireland — 0.8 g/l in England and Wales, 0.5 in Scotland and Ireland. Checks are frequent on the roads out of Buenos Aires and on the coast in summer; the fine comes with the impounding of the vehicle and the withdrawal of the licence, including a UK or Irish licence.
Sources
- Law 23.737 — narcotics — official text
- Supreme Court — Arriola judgment (2009) — case law
- Sedronar — REPROCANN and line 141 — official information
- British Embassy Buenos Aires — consular assistance for detained British nationals
The general article: Drugs and controlled substances · Compare with another country
General sources
- argentina.gob.ar — official portal of the Argentine state: procedures, civil registry, migration, health, justice
- Normativa nacional (InfoLeg) — official texts of Argentine laws and decrees
- British Embassy Buenos Aires — gov.uk — consular help, notarial and documentary services for British nationals in Argentina