A Catholic cartoon helps Mexicans reconcile faith with abortion rights

By Annalisa Merelli
Published August 5, 2022

Sister Juana Ilega and Father Beto work together in a parish. Both of them have Catholic faith strong enough to become the center of their existence, yet they don’t always see eye to eye on matters of morality or religion.

Father Beto is in line with mainstream Catholic doctrine. But Sister Juana is a feminist. She thinks the church should create more space for women, and interfere less with issues of sexuality and reproductive rights. To counter his positions, she uses the most powerful tool she has: scripture.

Continued: https://qz.com/a-catholic-cartoon-helps-mexicans-reconcile-faith-with-1849372958

Ireland and Latin America Can Inspire the US Abortion Fight

Analysis by Clara Ferreira Marques | Bloomberg
May 30, 2022

For decades, activists across the world have looked to Roe v. Wade, the landmark US ruling on abortion, as a model worthy of emulation. With the Supreme Court now set to overturn that decision, roles need to reverse: US rights groups must now turn to successful campaigns in Latin America and in Ireland for inspiration and advice on mobilizing voters, galvanizing legislators and widening support.

The impact of these popular movements is hard to overestimate. The Latin American marea verde, or green wave, emerged in Argentina in response to high rates of violence against women with the Ni Una Menos campaign, or Not One Less, and mass street protests. It expanded to include a demand for legal and safe abortions, and took its name from the green scarves women began to wear …

Continued: (unblocked) https://wapo.st/3wYPzTZ https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/ireland-and-latin-america-can-inspire-theusabortion-fight/2022/05/30/500ffa4c-dfef-11ec-ae64-6b23e5155b62_story.html

The Key Argument on Abortion That Changed Everything in Colombia

March 14, 2022
Catalina Martínez Coral

BOGOTÁ, Colombia — For decades abortion rights activists in Latin America looked to our counterparts in the global north to learn the best litigation and advocacy tools. We considered the incremental gains made in the years leading up to Roe v. Wade in the United States a blueprint for victory in our fight.

But as a feminist green wave, referring to the green bandannas abortion rights supporters wear, sweeps across the region, this summer the United States Supreme Court could roll back abortion rights. Inspiration is now coming from the south rather than the north, thanks to the coordinated efforts of many Latin American activists.

Continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/14/opinion/latin-america-colombia-abortion.html

Increase in Maternal Deaths: The Silent Impact of Covid-19 on Latin America

The scale of the health emergency led to restrictions and closures in reproductive health services for months. Artwork by Leila Arenas

International Campaign for Safe Abortion
May 21, 2021

With health systems focused on containing the virus, women have experienced severe hardships when trying to access reproductive health services, such as perinatal care, contraceptive methods and safe abortion services. The monitoring carried out in nine countries in the region is showing that these limitations have led to an increase in maternal deaths. Just in Peru, 433 expectant mothers passed away between January and December of 2020, a number not seen in a decade. This year, more than 90 deaths have been registered up to March 9th. If we continue on this path, specialists asked warn, the indicators could be even worse than those reported during the first few months of the pandemic.

Continued: https://mailchi.mp/safeabortionwomensright/21-may-2021?e=372dd34034

Letters to Pope Francis

FEATURE: Letters to Pope Francis
(three letters at the link, from the International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion, Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir, and Catholics for Choice.)
******************************
TO: His Holiness, Pope Francis
Apostolic Palace
00120 Vatican City
c/o Vatican Press Office
av@pccs.va

14 November 2018

Dear Pope Francis,

We are writing to express our disappointment at two recent pronouncements you made related to abortion, which seemed to contradict statements you had made earlier in your Papacy.

After you became Pope, you made two important statements in relation to women and abortion. First, you said that the Church should stop its obsession with the subject of abortion, and spend more time on its primary roles. We found that very hopeful because we think abortion is a public health and human rights issue, not a religious one, and we hoped your statement was an expression of understanding of the reality of women’s lives. We knew that you would not reverse the formal position the Church has taken since the mid-19th century, but we read your statement as a possibility that you might ever so slowly take the Church in a different direction.

Continued: https://mailchi.mp/safeabortionwomensright/feature-letters-to-pope-francis-14-november-2018?e=372dd34034