Mexican Catholics Protest Measure to Ease Abortion

Mar 26, 02:29 PM

Current Headlines: By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MEXICO CITY Abortion opponents summoned by Mexico's Roman Catholic Church marched through the capital Sunday in the first volley in what is sure to be a protracted fight between conservative forces and liberal lawmakers who want to legalize the procedure in the first three months of pregnancy.

Mexico City's outspoken Cardinal Norberto Rivera was leading the march down a boulevard to the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe for an afternoon Mass.

The hundreds of protesters taking part in the "pilgrimage for life" came from parishes across Mexico City and included families, youth groups and nuns in habits. Many held balloons emblazoned with the image of Virgin of Guadalupe while hymns blasted from loudspeakers mounted on trucks.

Some marchers prayed the rosary as they walked carrying banners reading "Defend Life."

Bills proposed by the opposition Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) in Mexico City's assembly and the federal congress would legalize abortion during the first three months of pregnancy. Current Mexican law allows the procedure only if the woman's life is in danger or in cases of rape or incest.

The measure is expected to pass easily in Mexico City, a federal district with a PRD-dominated legislature that recently approved same-sex civil unions in the capital.

But it will face a tougher road on the federal level, where the conservative National Action Party, or PAN, holds a plurality.

The PRD argues that current Mexican law forces poor women to seek back-street operations, while the wealthy can travel to the United States for the procedure.

(c) 2007 Record, The; Bergen County, N.J.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.