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Posts Tagged ‘abortion’

Chespirito wants abortion to stay illegal

5:51 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Celebrities|Controversia|mexico|Women · Comments Off

9 Apr 2007

For the past couple of weeks we’ve been telling you about the ongoing debate in Mexico City between city politicians and pro-life activists around a proposed bill to make abortion legal in Mexico’s capital. The debate has become hotter and hotter, and is now past the boiling point as Chespirito — a.k.a. Roberto Gómez Bolaños, the creator and star of legendary children’s show El Chavo del Ocho — a celebrity known for uniting Latinos all over the world has taken a step toward dividing Mexicans on this controversial topic.

Bolaños has joined pro-life activists to create television spots in which he recounts how his mother was told by doctors to terminate her pregnancy after an accident. In the spot, he goes on to say: “My mother told him, “Me? Have an abortion? Never.” That is to say, she defended life…my life. And thanks to her I’m here today.”

Mexico City Mayor: “I won’t veto legalization of abortion”

12:49 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Controversia|mexico|Religion|Women · 1 Comment

30 Mar 2007

Just when you thought the abortion debate in Mexico City couldn’t get any hotter, Mexico City mayor Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon announced to pro-life activists who are demanding he stop legalization of abortion that he would not veto the bill once it comes to his office, and described the president of one pro-life organization as “fascist”:

“What you are asking me to do is to veto a bill that hasn’t even been approved yet and I’m not going to veto it. I’ve never vetoed any bill approved by the Legislative Assembly, and I’m not vetoing this one either,” he said.

Ebrard, who once again referred to Serrano Limón [president of Pro-Vida, pictured at left] as a person with a fascist nature…explained that he will respond to the request as he would with any other citizen and said “because I AM a very tolerant person.”

Mexican religious groups protest abortion bill

2:15 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Controversia|mexico|Religion|Women · Comments Off

22 Mar 2007

Earlier this week we told you about how the PRD in Mexico City wants to see abortion legalized. As expected, backlash from the religious right in all its forms (Catholic, evangelical and others) was quick and bold, with groups of all religious stripes protesting yesterday, with some notable quotes:

The spokesperson for the Archdiosese of Mexico, Víctor Hugo Valdemar, called the legislative initiative proposed by the leftist Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD) and the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) “absurd”, “bloody”, “antidemocratic” “fascist”.

…”Man is not above divine law, and when he tries to be, that is an attitude of demonic arrogance,” added Valdemar, who said that the senators “are putting their salvation in peril” and that the women who abort “will have regrets for the rest of their lives.”

According to Venezuela’s El Universal, the only groups that showed even a smidge of tolerance were the Anglican and the Greek Orthodox churches, who advocated for more sex ed to avoid unwanted pregnancy.

El Universal also reports that a poll released yesterday shows 53% of Mexicans agree with making abortion legal, and a separate poll of only women shows 72% in support of legalization. Meanwhile, President Felipe Calderon of the right-wing PAN says the law “should remain as is”.

Via / El Universal

Mexico City politicans: Depenalize abortion

9:07 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Controversia|mexico|Religion|Women · 2 Comments

19 Mar 2007

It’s still hard for me to believe that abortion is illegal in Mexico, but I guess that’s because my idea of Mexican society is linked to (relatively) liberal Mexico City. In the capital, the head of the PRD, Mexico’s leftist party, has announced that he will support a bill in the assembly to “depenalize” abortion:

The local PRD leader said that he calls on those who oppose the initiative and threaten to protest to take into account that this is a fair demand, as thousands of deaths occur each year because of botched abortions.

He also said that the PRD doesn’t want a confrontation with anyone, on the contrary, “we respect all points of view, but we are going to create an awareness campaign for the public, because this really is a polemic topic and it needs wide reach.”

He said that’s why it’s the local assemblymembers’ job to establish a system for listening to different opinions and defining the process to approve depenalization of abortion in all cases, so that the woman be the one who decides if she will terminate her pregnancy or not, with a limit of 14 weeks of gestation.

As was to be expected, the Catholic church in Mexico City called the bill “an abominable crime” and vowed to oppose it and the PRD’s call to make the “abortion pill”, known as RU-486, legal.

Via / La Jornada

Attempt to Legalize Abortion in Chile Squashed

8:51 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Chile|Health|Women · Comments Off

22 Nov 2006

When I lived in nominally Christian Chile, I vividly remember news stories about underground abortion networks and many stories from many young Chilenas I knew in real life about their personal experiences undergoing illegal abortions. Sadly, these stories will continue after a proposal for a new legislation on the issue of abortion was rejected.

Boosted by parliamentarians Marco Enriquez-Ominami, of the Socialist Party and Rene Alinco, representative of the Party for Democracy, the initiative was defeated by most of Christian Democrats and the deputies from Alinco´s party.

While President Michelle Bachelet has pushed other women’s reproductive rights issues, such as the so called morning after pill, she hasn’t been that vocal about the abortion issue.

Via / Prensa Latina

Image Via / It Could be You

“Therapeutic Abortion” now illegal in Nicaragua

11:31 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Controversia|Latin America|Nicaragua|Women · 1 Comment

27 Oct 2006

A follow-up to Mala’s post from a couple of weeks ago.

In a giant leap backwards, the Nicaraguan parliament has yielded to the pressures of religious groups and the Nicaraguan president himself and moved to make therapeutic abortion (abortion to save a mother’s life) illegal and punishable by law in the coutry.

The parliament has left the current sentence for those who practice the abortions in place — six years in prison — in spite of the fact that President Enrique Bolaños was pushing for a much harsher sentence of 20 to 30 years.

Meanwhile, according to Spain’s 20 Minutos, the United Nations and the European Union are “worried”. You see, it’s no coincidence that this is being debated now…election day is just over a week away.

The measure was approved with the help from the left in an attempt to bolster favor for their candidate Daniel Ortega.

According to 20 Minutos, in a joint statement the United Nations and the European Union said:

“given that this is a highly sensitive issue that affects the life, health, and judicial safety of Nicaraguan women,” this issue should not be discussed so close to the November 5th elections.

Reuters reports that hundreds of women protested the passing of the measure outside of the National Assembly Wednesday night, many calling the decision a “death sentence” for pregnant women and a “violation of human rights”.

Via / 20 Minutos and Reuters

Nicaragua Looking to Ban Abortion

11:13 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Nicaragua|Women · Comments Off

14 Oct 2006

According to the Feminist Daily Newswire there is currently legislation under consideration in Nicaragua to ban all abortions, even to save the life of the woman/girl.

Current law permits “therapeutic abortions” for situations in which a woman or girl’s life is endangered by a pregnancy, but remains vague, Spero News reports. Despite the restrictive law, a 1996 study found that about 36,000 abortions are performed every year, and that unsafe, illegal abortions were a leading cause of death for women in the 1980s, according to CBS.

The predominately conservative country engaged in an explosive debate about abortion rights in March 2003 when a 9-year-old rape victim became pregnant and underwent an abortion. Despite medical opinions that the pregnancy was a risk to her health, government officials, Catholic church representatives, and anti-abortion activists opposed the abortion.

Via / Feminist Daily News
Image Via / Fecca

Southern Cone Making Strides for la Mujeres

3:55 pm By Maegan La Mala · Argentina|Brazil|Chile · Comments Off

16 Jan 2006

Brazil currently writing legislation which would legalize abortions up to the 12th week of pregnancy without restriction and up to 20 weeks in cases of rape and in all circumstances to protect a woman’s health or if the fetus is not viable. Currently abortions are allowed only in cases of rape or when a woman’s life is in danger.

Argentine homemakers are now eligible for retirement pensions from the state. According to a presidential decree homemakers will be able to receive retirement benefits and will be exempted from the rule that they contribute financially to the pension program for at least 30 years, normally required of paid workers.

And yesterday, Chile elected its first female president, Michelle Bachelet. The Socialist single mother beat, with over 60% of the vote, conservative billionaire Sebastián Piñera.

Via/ Women’s eNews & The New York Times

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