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Americas and the Caribbean
WorldAmericas

Mexico’s Catholic activists help women reconcile their faith with abortion rights

  • For activists from Mexico’s Catholics for the Right to Decide, prayer does not conflict with their fight for abortion access or support for LGBTQ rights
  • Its members across 10 Latin American nations advocate for the reinterpretation of sacred texts with a feminist perspective

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A green scarf with a message that reads in Spanish: “To decide is sacred, just and necessary” adorns an altar to the Virgin Mary, in the office of the Catholics for the Right to Decide, in Mexico City. Photo: AP
Associated Press
In a corner of their Mexico City office, activists from Catholics for the Right to Decide keep an image of the Virgin Mary close to a green scarf that reads: “Mary was consulted to be mother of God”.
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For these Catholic women, prayer does not conflict with their fight for abortion access, nor does their devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe prevent them from supporting LGBTQ rights.

“You might think that one cannot be a feminist and a Catholic,” activist Cinthya Ramírez said. “But being women of faith does not mean that we oppose progressivity, human rights or sexual diversity.”

Activist Cinthya Ramirez in the office of Catholics for the Right to Decide. The organisation was founded in 1994 by theologians and activists following in the footsteps of Catholics for Choice in the United States. Photo: AP
Activist Cinthya Ramirez in the office of Catholics for the Right to Decide. The organisation was founded in 1994 by theologians and activists following in the footsteps of Catholics for Choice in the United States. Photo: AP
The organisation was founded in 1994 by theologians and activists following in the footsteps of Catholics for Choice in the United States. Now present in 10 Latin American countries, its members denounce the invisibility of women in some religious environments and advocate for the reinterpretation of sacred texts with a feminist perspective.

“Assuming our right to decide and dissent with the ecclesiastic hierarchy allows us, as Catholics who embrace our faith, to make decisions in freedom and choose our own life project,” activist Maribel Luna said.

Believing the Virgin Mary made a choice to be a mother instead of just obediently fulfilling an archangel’s request is unusual in Mexico, where conservatives frequently dress in light blue to protest against the decriminalisation of abortion.

The Catholic archbishop of Mexico City, Carlos Aguiar Retes, advocated for an anti-abortion presidential candidate months ago and religious groups are used to praying outside abortion clinics, using Catholic symbols to strengthen their message.

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