Argentina is poised to become the first major Latin American country to legalize abortion after legislation was given the green light by lower house.

The bill, which was submitted last month by the leftwing president, Alberto Fernández, was approved on Friday morning by a margin of 131 to 117 votes after a 20-hour debate. It will be voted on by the senate at the end of this month.

The televised announcement of the “resulta afirmativo” sparked carnival-like scenes of joy outside Argentina’s national congress, where thousands of activists had been anxiously following the marathon session on big screens. One local news website, Infobae, called it “a tsunami of joy”. Abortion is currently a crime in Pope Francis’s homeland in virtually all circumstances.

“I feel really, really excited and happy,” said Mariela Belski, Amnesty International’s executive in Argentina, who was among those who had spent the night camped outside congress in Buenos Aires waiting for the news. “It was an amazing night.

“When the bill was passed, everyone was shouting, celebrating, crying,” added Belski, who said the legislation would help to save the lives of impoverished women who undergo illegal and often dangerous procedures in underground clinics or at home.

“This is a victory for the women’s movement that’s been campaigning for this for many, many years,” said the journalist and campaigner Ingrid Beck, emphasising the importance of the consensus-building effort by pro-choice campaigners and the current Fernández government. “The fact that this bill is sponsored by the government makes all the difference.”

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