Civil society groups are protesting the decision of the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Alfredo Pacheco (PRM-National District) to exclude the three abortion grounds from the Penal Code that today criminalizes abortion with no exceptions. Pacheco has said the passing of the Penal Code is a priority of his.
Corporate lawyer Mary Fernandez, representing a group of concerned citizens, delivered a petition for the including of the three grounds for abortion in the bill. She said in just four days, more than 2,067 signatures were collected.
Pacheco surprised the nation when he excluded the three exceptions from the Penal Code submitted again for approval in the Chamber of Deputies when sessions resumed after the change of government. Pacheco argued this would enable the important collection of crime legislation to pass faster. He proposes the abortion clauses be heard separately. Those against the motion say this makes it even more unlikely the grounds for abortion would pass.
Representatives of civil society have been urging the legislators to act to guarantee the life and health of women. They stress that this is a fundamental right that must be preserved and no particular interests, be they political or religious, can intervene.
Fernández explained that the request does not force anyone to interrupt a pregnancy, but rather it seeks to preserve women’s lives. She stresses the right to abortion does not apply in the case of birth of special children. The grounds for abortion would be the risk to the mother’s life, when the fetus is unviable, and when the pregnancy has resulted from rape or incest.
Conservative sectors, primarily religious entities, strongly oppose decriminalizing abortion. At present, abortion in any form is a crime, with jail sentences for the mother and the assisting physician.
Those that are against the approval of the three exceptions say approving these will covertly legalize abortions in the country. Women’s health advocates do stress that today the wealthy can travel abroad for safe abortion, while the poor need to risk their lives in unsafe conditions.
The Penal Code has more than a decade pending approval primarily due to the discussions on abortion. On two past occasions, the then PLD-majority Congress passed the bill without the abortion grounds, former President Danilo Medina vetoed the bill requesting the inclusion of the exceptions.
A bill with the exceptions was recently sent for review by a Senate committee.
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1 September 2020