"Under the protection of the law"
Baja California becomes third state in Mexico to enact constitutional shield protecting unborn from abortion
Baja California has become the third Mexican state to amend its constitution to protect the unborn following an August ruling by the country's supreme court upholding a law permitting abortions in the nation's capital.
By a vote of 21-3, the Baja California state legislature on Oct. 27 approved an amendment to the state's constitution providing for the protection of human life "from conception to natural death, without exceptions." Earlier this month, the state legislature of Sonora adopted a similar measure, voting 27-3 to adopt an amendment to the state constitution providing "the state of Sonora protects the right to life, affirming that, from the moment of fertilization, it comes under the protection of the law… until natural death."
The state of Chihuahua has also recently amended its constitution to protect the right life.
The 8-3 ruling by the Supreme Court of Mexico prompted celebration on the part of pro-abortion groups in Mexico City. The Ford Foundation-funded Information Group on Reproductive Choice noted on its web site that it played a large role in getting the abortion law approved in the first place. Ipas, an international abortion-advocacy group based in the U.S., joined in a celebratory press release along with groups likes Catholics for a Free Choice.
"This is a historic decision for women's rights, not just in Mexico City, not even just in Mexico, but for women all over Latin America," said Raffaela Schiavon, director of Ipas-Mexico.
The decision emboldened Ipas and other pro-abortion groups with funding from the U.S. intent on spreading abortion to Latin America. Maria Luisa Sanchez, executive director of the Information Group on Reproductive Choice said the ruling "will surely establish a precedent for Mexico, for the other states and for the region of Latin America."
Actions by state legislatures in Baja California, Sonora and Chihuahua are seen as an effort to prevent the spread of abortion to those northern states, where the anti-abortion National Action Party dominates.
Shortly after the high court issued its ruling in August, Cardinal Norberto Rivera, Archbishop of Mexico City, issued a statement condemning the decision, expressing "pain and mourning" over the ruling, and predicting that "millions of children will be sacrificed" as a consequence.
