Another Catholic country succumbs to pressure

Another "Catholic" country has succumbed to the pressure.

Mexico City's council has voted by a large majority to change the country's laws and make abortion available in government hospitals and clinics in the capital city during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. The law does not apply to federal hospitals, and only women who can prove that they are city residents will be allowed to use the facilities which came into effect at the end of April.

One will have to wait and see how long it will be before these restrictions will be removed and make the law applicable to the whole country. However, the fact remains that in a country which claims to adhere to a faith which considers abortion as murder and hence never acceptable, the first steps have been taken.

Following the city council's decision, the Mexican bishops issued a statement against the new law "which threatens the lives of unborn children", adding that the Pope was joining the bishops in their condemnation of the new provisions of the law.

In their joint statement, which was read in all churches, the bishops appealed to doctors in Mexico City not to perform abortions in spite of the change in the law. They reminded doctors and nurses that they were bound in conscience "not to be responsible for the abominable act". They also reminded them and all those who are affected by "this unjust law that they can invoke their human right to conscientious objection".

At the same time, a spokesman for the bishops stated that those councillors who had voted for abortion and those who perform abortions will be excommunicated.

Although the changes in the law had the support of the vast majority of the city councillors (46-19) the anti-abortion group has not taken the decision lying down. Following a public protest, the leader of the group, a former Mexico City legislator and remember of the National Action Party, which opposes abortion, said that they were determined to continue with their fight against abortion to protect the rights of the weakest who are unable to defend themselves.

On the other hand, supporters of the abortion legislation brought up the all-too-familiar claim that despite the anti-abortion law, hundreds of thousands of clandestine abortions were carried out regularly, often in unsafe conditions, sometimes ending in deaths.

Reacting to the bishops' statement and the threat of excommunication, Mexico City's mayor said that he would not be deterred. "We are in the 21st century, not the 16th... I have a lot of respect for issues of the faith... But this is a case where the affairs of state reign." Sounds familiar, no?