AMERICA/MEXICO - The Bishops "in favor of women and the right to life"

Mexico City (Agenzia Fides) - The nation's Supreme Court of Justice has ruled on the unconstitutionality of some articles of the Criminal Code of the State of Coahuila, concerning the criminalization of women who resort to abortion under certain conditions, of those who helped them and the health personnel who assisted them (see Fides, 6/9/2021).
The Bishops of Mexico, after having studied this resolution and the arguments presented in the public discussion sessions, believe that "the problems faced by women and the legal status of the unborn child are a complex issue, with anthropological, scientific, philosophical and ethical importance which cannot be reduced to a resolution in a court order".
Therefore, they consider it essential that "all the social actors - outside a climate of ideological polarization and without attachment to political positions - commit themselves to a new and profound reflection that allows to find a common path of solution to a multidimensional and multifactorial problem such as what we are dealing with". In the statement sent to Fides, the Mexican Bishops therefore offer some food for thought that guide the conscience of the faithful and men of good will, under the title "In favor of women and in favor of the right to life". "No woman should be forced to make the dramatic decision to resort to the practice of abortion - the Bishops say - a situation that in a large number of cases leaves profound pain. In this sense, we are aware that prison is not a solution to the problem of women who abort". The Church, Mother of all human beings, including those already conceived but not yet born, "must also protect - by all lawful means - her fundamental dignity as creatures of God and ensure that her right to life is not conditioned, discriminated against or subject to the will or decision of a third party. This path does not constitute an alternative solution either".
The Bishops therefore deeply regret that "faced with the apparent dilemma of not criminalizing the woman who aborts and preserving the life of the unborn child, the Court has chosen to rule out the second, without seeking to safeguard both". Recalling that the human right to life is recognized and guaranteed in the Mexican Constitution and in the most important International Treaties on Human Rights, they affirm, "the Court's resolution makes a dangerous and disproportionate contrast between the content and limits of what he calls 'the right of women to decide' against 'the constitutional protection of the unborn'", a subject on which they stop to reflect. Finally, the bishops underline that we live in a time of great social challenges, and quoting Pope Francis, they urge to "walk together, in favor of the common good, human dignity and the fundamental rights of all people, of any condition". The issues discussed in recent days by the Supreme Court, they conclude, "deserves a renewed commitment from all political actors, the academic community, churches and civil organizations to guarantee the protection of women in all circumstances, whether pregnant or not, in the respect for the human right to life of both the mother and the unborn child". (SL) (Agenzia Fides, 10/9/2021)

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