Jan 2, 2006 / 22:00 pm
Although the Colombian media continues to focus on feminist lawyer Monica Roa in the battle over the legalization of abortion in Colombia, a prominent pro-life leader says Roa is only the surface of a complex scheme by powerful organizations to undermine the defense of the unborn in Latin America.
Roa has been on the front page of Colombian newspapers since April, when she filed a suit that argued for the legalization of abortion in cases of rape, life of the mother or fetal deformity. In December the Constitutional Court ruled against Roa, who said she intends to re-argue the case by claiming the country’s laws defining abortion as a crime are unconstitutional.
Brazilian pro-life analyst Alberto Monteiro says that although Roa is touted as the leader of the abortion cause, on December 11, before Colombian newspapers got word of Roa’s proposal, The New York Times was already providing details on how the case was to be argued and when.
In contrast to Colombian newspapers, the New York Times did not report on the case as Roa’s personal initiative but rather pointed to “an international women’s rights group.”