Lauren Moye, FISM News
Guatemala was declared as the “pro-life capital of Latin America” last week. The nation’s president celebrated the Ibero-American Congress for Life and Family (CIVF) announcement, which was made on March 9 as part of a historic international pro-life conference held within the country two weeks ago.
President Alejandro Giammattei tweeted, “This is a great day to celebrate because Guatemala has been declared Pro-Life Capital of Ibero-America, and it is an invitation to unite to protect life from conception to natural death in its five stages.”
In addition to making the announcement, the conference also unveiled a Monument for Life currently housed as the country’s National Palace. As South American countries face increasing pressure to allow unnecessary abortions, Guatemala’s leadership has remained unapologetically pro-life. Not only is abortion illegal in Guatemala unless the life of the mother is threatened, but the country is also a 2021 signatory on the Geneva Consensus Declaration, which finds there is no international right to abortion.
“Guatemala is a small country with a big heart dedicated to faith, and we will continue to protect life. Today is the time to look to the future because Guatemala is a light for the nations,” stated the president.
March 9 was declared by Giammattei to be the National Day of Life and Family. Part of this declaration was in celebration of the staunchly pro-life “Protection of Life and Family” law passed the day before. However, the next day Giammattei announced that he would veto this law unless the nation’s congress voted to shelve the legislation.
The Protection of Life and Family law would have increased the potential jail-time a woman faced from receiving an abortion from 3 years to 10 years. The law also increased penalties on doctors who provided an illegal abortion. The veto of the bill came after the Guatemalan Family Matters Association, a conservative organization, asked the President to analyze the law to make sure it did not violate the constitutional rights of citizens.
Giammattei found that the Protection of Life and Family did violate the Guatemalan constitution as well as two international conventions. He did not elaborate how, but the bill also touched on LGTB+ rights, including the widely reported ban on normalizing same-sex relationships within the education system.
Abortion will remain illegal within Guatemala despite the shelving of the law. As the battle for the rights of the unborn rages in the U.S. with an upcoming Supreme Court decision that might potentially overthrow Roe vs. Wade, it is important to remember that pro-abortion lobbies are active globally.
“There is a systematic targeting country-by-country by the international pro-abortion lobby — that’s a fact,” said Alejandro Bermudez, executive director of the Catholic News Agency.
He described Guatemala as an “outlier” where lawmakers were “outspoken” with pro-life views. This contrasts sharply with other Latin-American countries such as Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia, which have expanded abortion access in the past two years.
David Closson, a director at the Family Research Council, spoke at the CIVF. He wrote in his report of the event, “Giammattei’s stand for life and family in the face of intense pressure deserves our admiration and respect. May courage breed more courage, and may all of us who care about the dignity and value of the unborn look to Guatemala’s example.”