| | |  Editorials | Issues | May 2009 
Mexico's Pro-Choice Advocates Take Parties to Task
 EFE
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Members of the Women's Health Coalition protested Wednesday at the headquarters of three main political parties against reforms they say have passed in 13 states that grant embryos the same rights as people.
The activists assembled a "protest caravan" that weaved past the Mexico City offices of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, the National étion Party, or PAN, and the Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD.
Since October 2008 members of all three parties - some to a lesser extent than others - have supported reforms to state constitutions that defend life from conception, said Brenda Rodríguez, a member of Gire, a reproductive-rights group.
The protest was a chance to have parties answer for their actions ahead of July 5 midterm elections, Rodríguez said. "We want to let the public know who is voting in favor of women's rights and who is not," she said.
These reforms could prevent access to emergency contraceptives, intrauterine devices or surrogate parenting, as authorities could interpret the law to stop any method they decide would interfere with fertilization, Rodríguez said.
But lawmakers say they are protecting the fetus from vague laws that could lead to legalizing abortions in all cases. They have no intention of criminalizing contraceptives, they say.
Others disagree. The reforms "are deceptive legislative measures that have electoral interests at heart and that pass without adequate discussion and without asking the opinion of women, who must face the daily consequences," the coalition of 11 organizations said in a statement.
The abortion-rights groups worry that the measures may also prevent pregnant women from having abortions if they have been raped or if their lives are in danger - which are exceptions currently legal in all states.
A movement to amend laws at the state level began after the Supreme Court ruled in August 2008 that each state may decide whether to legalize abortion or not. The decision shot down a court action that argued that the federal Constitution protects life from conception, and allowed Mexico City to continue offering legal abortions.
Anti-abortion groups and Catholic leaders say the move to amend state constitutions is an effort to clarify that laws indeed protect life from conception, in contrast to what the Supreme Court found |
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