Despite Catholic opposition, Mexico City passes abortion bill

Published: 2007-04-25

MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- Despite an intense opposition campaign by the Catholic Church, the Mexico City Assembly has approved an initiative legalizing abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Following a heated session April 24, the legislature voted in favor of the new law, which will allow hospitals run by the city government to provide abortions. The bill, passed 46-19 with one abstention, will become law when it is signed by the mayor. Outside the Assembly, on the streets of Mexico City's colonial center, supporters and opponents of the measure faced off, separated only by a thin row of riot police. Waving banners and chanting over the sound of booming drums, opponents of abortion vowed to find new ways to defeat the bill, which has put Mexico City, the nation's capital, on the short list of places in Latin America where abortions are allowed -- along with Cuba, Puerto Rico and Guyana. "We will continue fighting to prevent this," said Ivan Manjarez, a former Mexico City legislator with the conservative National Action Party, or PAN, which opposes abortion.

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