During the 1960s, a shift occurred within the Catholic church community that resulted in the formation of the Second Vatican Council, otherwise known as Vatican II. The council established by Pope John XXIII and was held from 1962 to 1965 (1). The council reaffirmed many church teachings, including the teaching that abortion should never be done because it is “a supreme dishonor to the Creator” and it, along with infanticide are “unspeakable crimes” (2). This teaching, which applied to the Catholic Church on an international level, and a rise of other widespread teachings against abortion spread throughout the Catholic church in response it seems to the increase in social movements and proposed legislation aimed at legalizing abortion. One such document that directly condemns abortion is the Declaration on Procured Abortion from the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, which was written by Pope Paul VI in 1974. In this document, not only was the act of abortion condemned but also the liberalization and efforts at legalization by those in support of giving women access to abortion (3). In the time following the publishing of these significant church many catholic influenced organizations formed in Mexico to combat the efforts of those proposing abortion legislation within the country.
(1) "Second Vatican Council." In Encyclopedia Britannica. N.p.: n.p., 2016. Accessed May 1, 2016. http://www.britannica.com/event/Second-Vatican-Council.
(2) Pope Paul VI. "Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World." Vatican. http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_cons_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html. December 7, 1965.
(3) Pope Paul VI. "Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: Declaration on Procured Abortion." Vatican. Accessed May 1, 2016. http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19741118_declaration-abortion_en.html. June 28, 1974.
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