In 2007, Mexico City proposed legislation that would decriminalize abortion within the first twelve weeks of pregnancy. Before the legislation passed, a polarization between the conservative and liberal Catholics occurred that could be seen by the stance the Catholics for the Right to Decide movement took. This organization proposed abortion as a public health issue, "It's become as much a public health issue now as a moral question," according to the organization’s spokeswoman Sandra Fosado (1). Through framing abortion as a public health issue, this organization did not explicitly condemn Catholic teaching, but instead formed a distinct and modern perspective on the issue. This framing demonstrates a modern shift in belief in a portion of the Catholic community that contributed to a divide within it. However, conservative catholic groups as well as the Catholic church responded to the passage of the legislation in a significant manner.
The Catholic Church held the 6th Pontifical Council for the Family in Mexico City in 2009. This council once again reaffirmed the Catholic teaching on abortion, “Destroying unborn life, which is completely innocent, is an act of supreme violence and severe responsibility in the eyes of God” (2). Having the council occur close in Mexico City, where abortion legislation was fairly new, demonstrates a strong reaction in opposition of the legislation by the Catholic Church.
Yet, although Mexico is predominantly Catholic, some scholars believe the church does not have as much influence as it claims to have. One such set of scholars, Susana Lerner and Guadalupe Salas, explain in their article “Abortion Legislation in Mexico in the Face of a Changing Sociodemographic and Political Context,” the modern influence of Catholicism in regards to abortion, “the population puts certain procedures and behavior patterns into play in order to contradict sanctioned behaviors while at the same time maintaining its religious beliefs and practices” (3). The emergence of a liberal sect of Catholicism is therefore not surprising in that it may have developed as a way for Catholics to cope with modernism in regards to public health while also abiding to religious belief. Even so, as an entity, the Catholic Church provides significant international influence, yet, this influence was not great enough to impact the already passed legislation.
(1) Padgett, Tim. "A Pro-Choice Movement in Mexico." Time, March 30, 2007.
(2) "Pontifical Council for the Family: Preparatory Catechesis for the Sixth World Encounter of Families." Vatican. Accessed May 1, 2016. http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/family/documents/rc_pc_family_doc_20080415_catechesis-mexico2009_en.html. January 2009.
(3) Lerner, Susana, and Guadalupe Salas. "Abortion Legislation in Mexico in the Face of a Changing Sociodemographic and Political Context." In The Sociocultural and Political Aspects of Abortion, edited by Alaka Malwade Basu, 203-23. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2013. 215.
The Catholic Church held the 6th Pontifical Council for the Family in Mexico City in 2009. This council once again reaffirmed the Catholic teaching on abortion, “Destroying unborn life, which is completely innocent, is an act of supreme violence and severe responsibility in the eyes of God” (2). Having the council occur close in Mexico City, where abortion legislation was fairly new, demonstrates a strong reaction in opposition of the legislation by the Catholic Church.
Yet, although Mexico is predominantly Catholic, some scholars believe the church does not have as much influence as it claims to have. One such set of scholars, Susana Lerner and Guadalupe Salas, explain in their article “Abortion Legislation in Mexico in the Face of a Changing Sociodemographic and Political Context,” the modern influence of Catholicism in regards to abortion, “the population puts certain procedures and behavior patterns into play in order to contradict sanctioned behaviors while at the same time maintaining its religious beliefs and practices” (3). The emergence of a liberal sect of Catholicism is therefore not surprising in that it may have developed as a way for Catholics to cope with modernism in regards to public health while also abiding to religious belief. Even so, as an entity, the Catholic Church provides significant international influence, yet, this influence was not great enough to impact the already passed legislation.
(1) Padgett, Tim. "A Pro-Choice Movement in Mexico." Time, March 30, 2007.
(2) "Pontifical Council for the Family: Preparatory Catechesis for the Sixth World Encounter of Families." Vatican. Accessed May 1, 2016. http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/family/documents/rc_pc_family_doc_20080415_catechesis-mexico2009_en.html. January 2009.
(3) Lerner, Susana, and Guadalupe Salas. "Abortion Legislation in Mexico in the Face of a Changing Sociodemographic and Political Context." In The Sociocultural and Political Aspects of Abortion, edited by Alaka Malwade Basu, 203-23. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2013. 215.
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