A lawmaker in Quintana Roo has come under fire after proposing the sterilization of women who abort a child for a second time.
On March 13, independent Deputy Sonia López Cardiel proposed a reform to the criminal code that would force women who want to have a second abortion to sign a document giving their consent to having a permanent contraception procedure.
Pregnancy termination in Quintana Roo is only legal in cases of rape, genetic disorders and health risks to the mother.
López argued that her proposal would be beneficial to women’s health because abortion is “exhausting for physical and mental health.”
The lawmaker also contended that preventing third abortions would reduce the number of children who are homeless, illiterate and live in situations of extreme poverty.
The proposal was referred to a parliamentary committee and will eventually be put to a congressional vote, although no date for that to occur has been set.
The Quintana Roo Human Rights Commission (CEDHQROO) and a range of other groups slammed López’s plan, describing it as discriminatory because women’s rights to make decisions about their own bodies would be limited.
“It’s a punitive and discriminatory measure that reflects gender stereotypes and prejudices as it would punish a woman for having an abortion . . .” CEDHQROO said.
The Quintana Roo Sexual and Reproductive Rights Network, an umbrella organization of 14 separate groups, said yesterday the proposal “fosters hate toward women by criminalizing them for their condition of unwanted pregnancy.”
It also said that enforced sterilization is a crime against in humanity as specified in Articles 7 and 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Mexico City is the only state in the country that allows abortions in all cases regardless of a woman’s motive, although a pregnancy must be terminated during the first 12 weeks.
In the 12 years that abortion has been legal in the capital, more than 209,000 pregnancies have been terminated, according to Mexico City health authorities.
In March, women’s rights activists rejected a suggestion from President López Obrador that the legalization of abortion could be put to a public vote.
“Rights are not up for consultation,” they shouted while the president spoke at an event to mark International Women’s Day.
Source: Infobae (sp)
