NewsWhore
08-27-2007, 05:00 PM
Congress has retaken discussions on abortion in the DR, and heated debates continue to take place. The reopening of the discussions happened after President Leonel Fernandez vetoed the bill that modified the Penal Code.
As reported in the Listin Diario, those who favor removing penalties from abortion in the case a woman has been a victim of rape or incest, or when it is proven that the fetus is defective, or the mother's life in danger, as previously was the rule in the DR.
Scherezada (Chiqui) Vicioso, in charge of women's affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Relations, said that the ban on abortion included in the Penal Code only affects those who cannot afford travel abroad to carry out an abortion. Furthermore, lawyer Eduardo Jorge Prats spoke up in favor of reinstating the abortion clauses, saying that the Church cannot expect the laws to impose what religious has not achieved with their followers.
In Latin America, only four countries (Chile, Haiti, Nicaragua and the DR) penalize abortion when the mother's health is at risk, said Lourdes Contreras, coordinator of the Center for Gender Studies at INTEC university.
Those in favor of maintaining the absolute ban on abortion, primarily religious groups, emphasize that life begins at conception. Jose Alberto Ortiz, director of the Christian lawyer network (m.medina@maa-lau.com or 809 532-2576), says that if the government again permitted an abortion to be carried out on grounds that the mother's life was at risk, would pave the way for the legalization of abortion in general.
A coalition of groups has been established to promote changes in the Penal Code. Abortion discussions are just one of several that are happening as women's and children's rights are being debated. Lourdes Contreras of the Center for Gender Studies at INTEC university says that the coalition seeks to integrate relative legal advances in intra-family violence and protection of children that came with Law 24-97, and add new gains to it now that 10 years have passed. The coalition can be reached by contacting Fatima Lorenzo at fatima6013@yahoo.com (Tel 809 221 8261).
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#7)
As reported in the Listin Diario, those who favor removing penalties from abortion in the case a woman has been a victim of rape or incest, or when it is proven that the fetus is defective, or the mother's life in danger, as previously was the rule in the DR.
Scherezada (Chiqui) Vicioso, in charge of women's affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Relations, said that the ban on abortion included in the Penal Code only affects those who cannot afford travel abroad to carry out an abortion. Furthermore, lawyer Eduardo Jorge Prats spoke up in favor of reinstating the abortion clauses, saying that the Church cannot expect the laws to impose what religious has not achieved with their followers.
In Latin America, only four countries (Chile, Haiti, Nicaragua and the DR) penalize abortion when the mother's health is at risk, said Lourdes Contreras, coordinator of the Center for Gender Studies at INTEC university.
Those in favor of maintaining the absolute ban on abortion, primarily religious groups, emphasize that life begins at conception. Jose Alberto Ortiz, director of the Christian lawyer network (m.medina@maa-lau.com or 809 532-2576), says that if the government again permitted an abortion to be carried out on grounds that the mother's life was at risk, would pave the way for the legalization of abortion in general.
A coalition of groups has been established to promote changes in the Penal Code. Abortion discussions are just one of several that are happening as women's and children's rights are being debated. Lourdes Contreras of the Center for Gender Studies at INTEC university says that the coalition seeks to integrate relative legal advances in intra-family violence and protection of children that came with Law 24-97, and add new gains to it now that 10 years have passed. The coalition can be reached by contacting Fatima Lorenzo at fatima6013@yahoo.com (Tel 809 221 8261).
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#7)