.- The Bishops’ Conference of Guatemala is poised to file a petition before the country’s Supreme Court to stop a new law that would open the doors to abortion.
President Oscar Berger vetoed the law on family planning, which was championed by the opposition in Parliament. Nevertheless, opposition lawmakers gathered enough votes to override the veto and force its passage.
According to Auxiliary Bishop Gonzalo de Villa of Guatemala City and secretary of the Conference, the bishops could file a petition before the Supreme Court arguing the law is unconstitutional because of the way in which it was passed and because it constitutes “an attack on human life and the right of parents to educate their children.”
“The law on family planning is an attack on human life…and is unconstitutional,” said Cardinal Rodolfo Quezada Toruño, Archbishop of Guatemala, during a press conference. “This law will open the doors to abortion, which contradicts the value of life,” said the cardinal, noting his disappointment that “because of their lack of knowledge about moral values, Congress rejected the presidential veto.”
