Ultrasound scan of pregnant minor in massive anti-abortion protest in Mexico

With prayers, slogans and even an ultrasound test carried out on a stage to a 15-year-old pregnant teenager, some 10,000 protesters against the right to abortion marched this Sunday in Mexico City.

The so-called “March in favor of Women and Life”, which advanced on the central Paseo de la Reforma until concentrating on a rally at the iconic Angel of Independence, mainly convened Catholic groups that reject advances towards the decriminalization of the abortion in Mexico.

On September 7, the Supreme Court of Mexico declared unconstitutional to punish the interruption of pregnancy.

“The government (…) is elevating the right to abortion as a right to kill. We are very concerned because it is not the feeling of the majority of Mexicans, ”Alma Bello, a 56-year-old protester, told AFP.

On the stage set up for the occasion, a stretcher and portable ultrasound equipment were placed, where the gynecologist Fernando Urquiza performed an ultrasound test on Ana, a 15-year-old adolescent 38 weeks pregnant.

Amid cheers and applause, Urquiza listened to the teenager’s belly while the images were reproduced on giant screens placed on both sides of the stage.

“He’s already settled, ready to be born”said the doctor who said he was “very excited” to participate in the act. Asked about how she felt while the test was being carried out, Ana laconically replied that “good”.

Meanwhile, a cheerleader at the rally jokingly told Ana that this was “The biggest baby shower that (has) seen.”

50,000 march in Guadalajara

In Guadalajara (Jalisco, west), the second largest city in MexicoAccording to local authorities, the demonstration gathered around 50,000 people, who marched carrying religious images and posters with messages rejecting abortion.

One of the most repeated claims was against another Supreme Court ruling that invalidated an article of the Mexican General Health Law that enshrined conscientious objection as an argument so that doctors could refuse to practice it.

Although the court recognizes the right of doctors, it considered that the invalidated article was imprecise and affected the rights of patients, especially women and pregnant women.

Uriel Llamas, a doctor from Guadalajara who marched in defense of this right, said that the objection applies to “Sensitive issues such as abortion, euthanasia and sex change surgeries.”

“It has to do with bioethical issues, that’s where the doctor can adhere to that right”he told AFP.

“Unthinkable” abortion

For Alison González, Catholic activist of the Pasos por la Vida collective, organizer of the march in Mexico City, it does not go against a fact “conjunctural“As the ruling of the Supreme Court, but by a”national agreement in favor of women ”.

“We need policies that reconcile the professional with motherhood, that assure us to return home safely and safely, that help us to get ahead in the face of an unexpected pregnancy (…) Legal or illegal, abortion has to be unthinkable because the woman deserves much more”Gonzalez, 26, said.

The demonstration exhibited a high level of organization, with groups that arrived by buses from different states such as Morelos (center) and Jalisco, all carrying hundreds of flags and light blue scarves that identify the collectives “provided”Internationally.

Some groups said Hail Marys while others chanted slogans such as “legal or illegal, abortion kills anyway!”

In other Mexican cities such as Juárez and Chihuahua (north), the marches drew some 900 and 800 people respectively.

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