CUERNAVACA, Mexico (CWNews.com) – Health officials from 20 Latin American countries gathered in Mexico on November 12 to begin planning how to legalize abortion in their countries, despite deeply held religious beliefs in the mainly Catholic countries.
The three-day conference sponsored by Mexico's National Institute of Health brought together more than 250 health officials. The stated aim was to help Latin American governments establish “a free exchange of ideas” about the possible legalization of abortion. Many of the countries represented at the conference actually have a pro-life statement enshrined in their constitutions.
World Health Organization representative Axel Mundigo said clandestine abortions claim about 6,000 lives each year. He was referring to the mothers who died from complications and not the unborn children who are killed. “Abortion needs to be discussed in a public forum so that women, who represent more than half the population, become the ones who decide the fate of legislation dealing with abortion,” Mundigo said.
Thousands of protesters affiliated with the ruling National Action Party called on President Vicente Fox to revoke the visas of attendees and remove them from the country. Members of the local chapter of the pro-life Love Life Network accused conference organizers of mounting a legalization campaign across Latin America. “These leaders have arrived as messengers of death under the pretense of public health,” said network president Angeles Amaro. “They are meeting in this city to attack the natural right to life.”
(This article courtesy of Catholic World News. To subscribe or for further information, contact subs@cwnews.com or visit www.cwnews.com.)