In an article entitled MEXICO: Avalanche of Anti-Choice Laws, IPS News Service reports that my former organization, GIRE, and the NGO Catholics for the Right to Decide have publically stated that the rash of new anti-abortion legislation in Mexican states may constitute a pact on the part of the Catholic hierarchy. 

According to CDD director María Consuelo Mejía, there is “no direct evidence, but we have repeatedly heard allegations” of such a pact.

My former director at GIRE, María Luisa Sánchez, is quoted at calling the onslought of anti-choice legislation in PAN- and PRI-controlled states “revenge” on the part of conservative actors. 

GIRE, CDD and other allies have called upon other Mexican states to bring their constitutional and criminal frameworks in line with the Supreme Court’s decsions upholding the constitutionality of the Mexico City Law, but as the article points out, “12 states moved in the opposite direction and made it even more difficult to get a legal abortion, and another seven states may soon follow suit.”  A GIRE release on the subject today said that

In the past six months, Mexico has witnessed a wave of conservative bills that aim to protect life from the moment of conception in state constitutions. In many cases, these bills totally ban abortion even under circumstances (such as rape, fetal malformation, or risk to a woman’s life) when it is currently allowed.

Bad stuff.

This is why the rallying cry after the victory at the Supreme Court became, “Aborto legal y vamos por mas,” or “Legal abortion and we’re pushing for more.”  The NGOs knew that the battle for the states was coming, and GIRE initiated a campaign to protect, defend and advance abortion rights all over the country.  A summary of the “Every Woman Deserves a Choice” campaign is available on my portfolio page.