How overturning Roe v Wade would affect Latin America

By Diego Lopez Marina

Lima, Peru, May 4, 2022 / 16:20 pm

Pro-life leaders in Latin America have reacted to the possibility that the Roe v. Wade decision which legalized abortion throughout the United States may be overturned.

The news organization Politico published May 2 a draft ruling written by Justice Samuel Alito in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The document calls for the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

In a statement to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish language sister news agency, Jesús Magaña, president of the pro-life platform United for Life in Colombia, commented that if the leak turns out to be the final decision, "it would be a victory for the pro-life movement" and it would be recognized that the 1973 ruling "was an extremely serious mistake that has cost the lives, in the United States alone, of more than 60 million human beings.”

“The 1973 decision has a very big effect, especially on the American continents. In Latin America, court rulings in the United States are looked at very carefully, and in the case of Roe v. Wade, the ruling exerted pressure for abortion to be decriminalized in many of our countries and continues to do so to this day," Magaña explained.

The Colombian pro-life leader said that reversing the ruling "would have positive effects in Latin America in favor of life."

Martha Villafuerte, national director of the Ecuador Family association, told ACI Prensa that when the pro-life community in her country learned of the leak, it had "a very hopeful impact."

“The news was a wake up call, because while Ecuador bows its head to the abortion agenda, the United States is fighting in a firm, consistent and head-on way. It’s all or nothing. That’s the strength that we must replicate so our Constitutional Court reverses the decriminalization of abortion,” she said.

"For countries like Colombia or Ecuador, where there have recently been court rulings against life, this news shakes us up into going to the root of the problem," she said.

However, Villafuerte fears that according to some sources in the United States that leaking the ruling against Roe v. Wade "may be a dirty trick by the abortion lobby to put pressure on the judges."

"We have to give our complete support, crossing borders, praying a lot so that the judges maintain their position and show courage in the face of political pressure," she added.

Marcial Padilla, director of the Mexican pro-life and pro-family platform ConParticipación, told ACI Prensa that the Supreme Court’s decision is of "extreme importance for Mexico and all of Latin America."

“In Mexico, for example, a 2021 judicial decision is imposing abortion on the country. Therefore, for Mexicans it’s very important to observe what’s happening in the United States. And if the ruling is issued, it would be proof that, with perseverance, it’s possible to reverse a Court’s interpretation,” he noted.

Padilla also recalled that pro-life groups “must be aware that the cause in favor of the dignity and appreciation of human life is not just before birth,” and that it must be recognized that if Roe is overturned, it would be "a very important step in being able to protect the mother and child in all circumstances."

The director of the Origin Association in Peru, Giuliana Caccia, commented to ACI Prensa that if Roe is overturned, it would “pull out the rug” from under "all the laws (and bills) that base their arguments on this judicial precedent, not only in the United States," but throughout the world.

Caccia noted that Roe v. Wade strengthened for decades the "narrative that abortion is a human right," which can be seen by "the strategy that the pro-abortion lobby has implemented throughout these decades, creating supranational and pseudo-scientific jurisprudence to promote its agenda.”

For Caccia, it’s a matter of time before the “truth comes to light.”

“The most incredible thing about this case is that Norma McCorvey, the famous 'Jane Roe' in the decision, said that the story that gave rise to her case was false: she wasn’t raped and her testimony was manipulated by the activist lawyers who moved forward with the case," Caccia pointed out.

More in Americas

Bishop Flores on Texas elementary school shooting: ‘Don’t tell me that guns aren’t the problem’

Read article

"Let’s hope that justice will be done and this helps stop this genocide whose main victims are innocent children and women who don’t understand the personal and spiritual repercussions of the decision they make to end the lives of their babies," Caccia said.

And the campaign director for CitizenGO in Argentina, Silvina Spataro, told ACI Prensa that the possibility of Roe v. Wade being overturned is cause for “great joy” because the ruling is "unjust and based on a bogus case."

“This news is a big step for all pro-lifers! It has to give us strength to continue fighting to reverse the criminal abortion laws in our countries and continue working to raise awareness about the value of human life from conception to natural death,” Spataro said.

Diego Lopez Marina has a degree in Communication Sciences with a specialization in journalism from the University of San Martín de Porres (Peru). He began his professional career in 2015, as an editor for the Journalistic Archive area of the Diario El Comercio. In 2016 he began working as an writer for ACI Prensa and since 2018 he has been working as a web editor.