Mexican legislators are pushing for two laws that would legalise abortion, but are facing protests from the Catholic Church and other conservative groups. Will Mexico succeed in becoming the second country in the predominantly Catholic Latin American region to allow abortion?

Mexico, a country where almost 90% of the population are Catholics, could be the second country in Latin America, after Cuba, where abortion would be legal, pending the passage of two abortion laws. As a region, Latin America is predominantly Catholic.

In Mexico City, a local draft law would allow voluntary abortion up to the 14th week of pregnancy. This was introduced by opposition city legislators from the leftist Democratic Revolution Party (PRD), the centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), and the small Alternativa party. At the national level, PRD senators presented a similar law to Congress proposing to make abortion legal in the country before the 12th week of pregnancy. The proposed legislations are expected to be passed within the coming months.

In an interview with the Inter Press Service, Martha Júarez, spokesperson for the nongovernment Information Group on Reproductive Choice (GIRE), said that for the first time, “There is a serious, mature debate on this [abortion], and a strong possibility that abortion will be decriminalised, which would be a very positive step in terms of the rights of women.”

But as can be expected, the Catholic Church and other conservative groups are drumming up protests.

Colombian Bishop Alfonso Lopez, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, was reported to be sent to Mexico by The Vatican to support opponents of the new draft laws.

Mexican President Felipe Calderón said that he would respect the decisions reached by the legislators. Although he clarified that he believes in “the defence of life.”

In almost every country in the Latin American region, women's groups and activists continue to fight for the legalisation of abortion.

According to Juárez, the conservatives are using the “sensationalist strategy of broadcasting old videos” to oppose the draft laws, adding that if they had “a minimum of integrity,” they will show other videos showing the deaths of women who have undergone unsafe backstreet abortions instead.

“Deciding whether or not to have a child should be exclusively the woman's choice. That is her right, and she should not have to put her life at risk for it,” Juárez said.

“It is not our point of view that abortion should become a general practice. The important thing is to have a public health system that improves and extends everything to do with sex education and prevention of unwanted pregnancies,” she added.

At present, special laws in Mexico City allow abortion only when a mother's life is threatened, but in the rest of the country, abortion is legal only in rape cases.

Sources:
“Mexico's capital plans to legalize abortion” from Reuters, posted on March 14, 2007, <http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN1319135920070314>.
“Mexico: Legal Abortion No Longer a Distant Goal for Activists” from Inter Press News Agency, posted on March 21, 2007, <http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37037>.