ANTI-ABORTION FIGHT MOVES TO FEDERAL LEVEL IN MEXICO

MEXICO'S STATES DEFINED FERTILIZED HUMAN EGG
AS A PERSON WITH A RIGHT TO LEGAL PROTECTION

MEXICO CITY (AP) - In the capital of the world's second-largest Roman Catholic country, abortions are now legal up to 12 weeks' gestation. However, they remain a crime in the rest of the country where a woman risks jail time if caught interrupting her pregnancy. A majority of the country's 32 states have now enacted anti-abortion measures in response to Mexico City's legislature permitting abortions in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Lawmakers in Veracruz made it Mexico's 17th state to pass legislation declaring life begins at conception, then adopted a proposal that requires Congress to consider amending the constitution to outlaw abortion.

Mexican states currently set their own laws on abortion, but the constitutional proposal adopted by the Veracruz lawmakers late Tuesday is likely to make the issue a federal one. Under the constitution, a single state legislature can propose an amendment that must be considered by Congress. The Veracruz law also includes exceptions for rape, congenital deformation of a fetus or danger to the mother's life. The liberalizing move in Mexico City sparked wide condemnation from the Catholic Church and sent both pro-life and pro-choice supporters into the streets. The debate has also raised concerns about the estimated 200,000 illegal abortions that are performed here each year, which result in nearly 1,500 women dying during botched operations in unhygienic backstreet clinics.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

According to Hindu scripture, human life begins when the male semen fertilizes the female egg. “By divine arrangement in accordance with the principle of karma, the living entity enters into the womb of a woman through the particle of male semen to assume a particular type of body.” (SB. 3.31.1).
Hindus consider that the soul enters the womb at the time of conception. Thus it does not condone abortion. However, modern times being what they are call for a thoughtful evaluation of circumstances. Adoption is a viable alternative, but education in spiritual values is the solution. Regarding the karma involved, both the soul incoming and the one aborting are implicated in reaping karmic reaction (fruit) and initiating karmic reaction (seed) respectively.

Srila B.V. Tripurari Maharaja
"Sanga Vol. III, No. 8 - 2001 & Sanga Vol. IV, No. 8 - 2002"
Sri Caitanya Sanga - http://www.swami.org