By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman
MEXICO, April 14, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Mexican states of Jalisco and Durango have recently passed pro-life constitutional amendments by overwhelming majorities, becoming the sixth and seventh states to do so in recent months.
On March 26 in Jalisco, state legislators voted to amend article 4 of the state constitution to state that “this Constitution protects and guarantees the subjective public right of the individual to life, from conception to natural death, of people who are present within the territory of the state of Jalisco, as well as the others that are stated by the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States.”
The amendment passed 28-0 with broad multiparty support from the conservative National Action Party (PAN), the liberal Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), and even one vote from the socialist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), as well as others. Two PRI representatives abstained, and two PRD legislators objected to the amendment, and then left the floor before the vote.
As LifeSiteNews (LSN) reported last week, the amendment was opposed by an organization, CAMPO, which receives tens of thousands of dollars annually from the Canadian Catholic bishops’ Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCODP). CAMPO signed a protest against the measure, denouncing the prohibition of abortion as “torture” (see coverage at https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040611.html).
On April 7 in the state of Durango, 27 out of 30 legislators approved an amendment to article one of the state constitutions, protecting the right to life from the moment of conception until natural death.
The amendment reads: “The state of Durango recognizes, protects, and guarantees the right to life of every human being, expressly holding that from the moment of conception it comes under the protection of the law, and it is treated like one who has been born for all corresponding legal purposes, until its death, save exceptions established by law.”
According to representative Noel Flores Reyes of the PAN, which supported the measure, the new amendment will not override existing exceptions in the state’s criminal code for abortion in cases of rape or fetal deformity.
However, Reyes believes it will help to prevent the passage of legislation similar to that of Mexico City, which recently legalized abortion on demand during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
The amendment was also supported by members of the PRI and PRD.
The other Mexican states that have passed similar pro-life amendments include Sonora, Baja California, Colima, Morelos, and Puebla.
The amendments have been motivated by the passage in 2007 of Mexico City’s liberal abortion law. Socialist legislators had hoped to pass similar laws in Mexico’s 31 states. However, their campaign has backfired, provoking the passage of right to life amendments throughout the country, aimed at rendering such legislation unconstitutional.
Related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Mexican State of Puebla Approves Pro-Life Amendment to Constitution
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09031601.html
Mexican Supreme Court Issues Decision Protecting Ability of States to Restrict Abortion
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09030512.html
Abortion Legalization Initiatives Die in Mexico’s State Legislatures
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09030213.html
Mexican State of Colima Amends Constitution to Protect Right to Life from Conception, 19-0
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/feb/09021811.html
Pro-Abortion Forces Sue to Overturn State Pro-Life Amendment in Mexican Supreme Court
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09013008.html
Mexican State of Colima Rejects Legalization of Abortion 19-1
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09012902.html
Mexican State of Sonora Passes Pro-Life Constitutional Amendment
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/oct/08102213.html