Translated from ACI Prensa and reposted with permission.
A
few days after the Mexican Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN)
dismissed two constitutional controversies which sought to reverse the
controversial Mexican Official Standard NOM-046, which allows abortion in cases
of rape for minors, the Conference of the Mexican Bishops (CEM) reminded everyone
that “there is no right to kill.”
According to NOM-046, girls over 12 years old can directly request an abortion
in health institutions without the need for any police report, but only with a
request stating “under oath” that the pregnancy is the result of a rape.
Only in the case of children under 12 years must the application be submitted
by a parent or guardian.
NOM-046 was originally issued by the Ministry of Health of Mexico in April 2009
and amended in March 2016.
In April 2016, the Executive Branch of the State of Baja California and the
Legislative Branch of the State of Aguascalientes filed constitutional disputes
against NOM-046, which were finally dismissed by the SCJN on August 5 of this
year.
In a document published on August 12 of
this year, entitled “In favor of girls and women victims of rape and the
unborn child,” the Mexican bishops said that among the most critical
changes applied to NOM-046 is that ” it replaces the concept of abortion,
by that of Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy (IVE) and legalizes the practice
of abortion without establishing any limit on the time of pregnancy. ”
In
addition, they indicated, “It nullifies the exercise of parental rights as the
right and obligation of the victim’s parents in this matter, since girls
between 12 and 17 years who have been raped can request abortion without the
need of their parents’ consent or of their legal representatives. ” NOM-046,
they continued, “establishes as the only requirement to have access to
abortion, the written request under oath of the affected person that the pregnancy
is the result of a rape, eliminating the requirement of a prior filing of a
police report and an authorization of the competent authorities. ”
The federal norm, they added,
“dehumanizes and renounces the integral care of the victim, since the health
personnel who participate in the procedure of voluntary termination of
pregnancy will not be obliged to verify the applicant’s word, under the
protection of an equivocal application of the principle of good faith provided
for in the General Victims Law. ”
The
bishops criticized that the current wording of NOM-046 opens “a path of serious
consequences, as it promotes impunity in favor of the aggressor and allows the
victim to return to the location in which she suffered the rape, with the very
high risk of being re-victimized. ” “More serious, NOM-046 can be a
facilitating mechanism for sexual offenders to coerce victims to request the
practice of abortion and – thereby – evade the consequences provided for in
current criminal legislation,” they said. They indicated that federal
regulations “do not strengthen the protection of women, blatantly threaten
hundreds of thousands of innocent lives and pave the way for the insertion of
the culture of death as a social dynamic.”
Later, the CEM stressed that “although
the woman who is pregnant as a result of a rape has not been responsible for
having conceived the baby, this point does not negate the unborn baby of her
right to life. Likewise, the unborn is not an aggressor, he is a second
innocent victim who must not suffer death for a crime he did not commit. ”
“We
recognize the fundamental rights of women and recognize the same rights in the
unborn,” they stressed, while noting that “there is no right to kill,
there is the right to live.” “Only where you respect, defend, love
and serve human life, all human life, will you find justice, development, true
freedom, peace and happiness,” they said.
The Mexican bishops expressed their
desire to “join the defense and care of women who have lived through the
painful experience of sexual assault. We put our support institutions for women
and family at their disposal so they know we have help for them. ”
At the same time, they said, “we ask God for the authorities of the Mexican State to opt for the integral protection of girls and women victims of sexual violence, prevent their re-victimization with measures such as those provided in NOM-046 and respect the right to life of the unborn; We pray that you build a solid culture of life and do not get carried away by the inhuman proposals of the culture of death. ”
“Entrusting ourselves to the Virgin of Guadalupe, who brought us through her life the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, who came to bring life and life in abundance, help us to be also custodians of life,” they concluded.
