Mexico City: Church pledges to fight new abortion laws
As Mexico marked Children's Day yesterday, the Archdiocese of Mexico City said there was nothing to celebrate, after lawmakers approved legislation legalizing abortion on demand in the capital in the first 12 weeks of a pregnancy. Until now, abortion has only been permitted in cases of rape, danger to the mother's life or severe foetal defects. Mexico City Mayor, Marcelo Ebrard, who attended a Children's Day paprade yesterday, said that doctors at city-run hospitals will not be allowed to refuse to perform abortions even if they personally object to the procedure. Lamenting the liberalization of the abortion laws in the city, a church spokesman said doctors who perform the procedure will be betraying their profession. Local media report that the Interior Department it is currently investigating whether church leaders, by speaking out against the city government, have violated laws that forbid them to be involved in politics. But Archdiocese spokesman Hugo Valdemar Romero said the church would not stop campaigning against abortion. "For the church, this is just the beginning," Romero said. "Cardinal Norberto Rivera has promised the Holy Father to work earnestly in favour of life, and that work will be carried out intensely, not only by the Archdiocese, but all over the country." Doctors and nurses who performed abortions and lawmakers who supported the legalization will be excommunicated, he said. Elsewhere in Mexico, abortion is only allowed in cases of rape, danger to the mother's life or severe feotal defects. The only countries in the region that allow abortion on demand are Cuba and Guayana.