A President, a Congress, and a Pro-Life Nation

A President, A Congress, and A Pro-Life Nation
Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei

 

Guatemala is a small Central American country with deep Christian roots, so the protection of life runs deep in its culture.

However, for decades the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has imposed radical “reproductive health” and “family planning” programs on Guatemala to make the country an example to the world.

For USAID officials, cultural values and the predominant Catholic religion in Guatemala were always seen as “barriers” to be removed.

In recent months, a series of events arose to oppose this negative influence. Guatemalans now have a president who courageously defends their sovereignty in the face of international pressure to legalize abortion, a Congress that joins him in that opposition, and citizens who not only support them, but celebrate their convictions.

All this has led Guatemala to be considered today “the pro-life capital of Ibero-America.”Undoubtedly, Guatemala today offers a very inspiring testimony for every member of the international pro-life movement.

On June 28, 2022, Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei went to the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, D.C., to denounce the intolerable pressure his country has been suffering because of international attempts to force his country to grant legality to the legal murder of unborn children.

At the session of the OAS Permanent Council, Giammattei harshly criticized the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights – IACHR, an organ of the OAS – and its 2021 Annual Report.

In this report, the IACHR demanded that Guatemala adopt “legislative measures, public policies and any other necessary measure (…) to guarantee women’s access to sexual and reproductive health goods and services without discrimination, including access to voluntary interruption of pregnancy in cases of danger to life or health, as well as in cases of rape and incest.”

For the President of Guatemala, this Commission “reveals an agenda in favor of abortion that exceeds [the Commission’s] competencies, because the IACHR should not be an activist on these issues but respect the sovereignty and freedom of each State to decide on these issues.”

During his presentation, Giammattei showed a video containing a communiqué from the Guatemalan Congress. The message was direct and clear.

The Congress accused the OAS of violating international law and presented compelling evidence of repeated intrusions in the internal democratic processes of their country.

The excesses included demands not only that the Congress adopt pro-abortion legislation, but also that it refrain from legislating in favor of the promotion of the family.

As legitimate representatives of the Guatemalan people, the parliamentarians reminded the OAS of the limits of its functions and the proper nature of its role, which must be subordinated to the sovereignty of nations.

To make it clear that Guatemala is not alone, Giammattei cited the June 24th U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned the supposed constitutional “right” to legal abortion in that country.

But it also pointed out the duplicity of the OAS before the international community because the organization only pressures small countries and will certainly not have the same pretensions or demands with the United States.

This story began on October 12, 2021 in an event held at Guatemala’s National Palace of Culture. There, President Giammattei signed the “Geneva Consensus to Promote Women’s Health and Family Promotion,” which clearly states that there is no “right” to abortion.

It is “a transcendental document for the protection of human rights, life, family and freedom worldwide”, as pointed out by the Guatemalan pro-life coalition “La Familia Importa – AFI” (The Family Matters – AFI). This consensus has four pillars of action: “improve access to health care for women, preserve human life from conception, strengthen the family as the foundation of society and protect national sovereignty against the imposition of anti-rights laws.”

Of course, on that day the international abortion lobby made Guatemala its target.

Five months later and despite a ruthless international media campaign against it, Guatemala reaffirmed its pro-life position. On March 9, 2022, Shirley Rivera, President of the Congress together with deputies from different parties participated in the act where Guatemala was declared “Pro-Life Capital of Iberoamerica.” President Giammattei and all his ministers were also present.

“The eyes of the world will be on Guatemala, let us call for peace, unity, teamwork and from any space where we are, let us give love to our neighbors, let us truly be that light in our country,” said the President of the Congress.

Afterwards, the inauguration of the Patio de la Vida was held at the National Palace of Culture, where a monument for Life and the Family was also unveiled in the presence of national and international authorities.

PRI has been fully engaged in this work. Sergio Burga, manager of the PRI Office for Ibero-America, spent the first half of June leading conferences in 10 major cities. Pro-life deputies and the AFI Coalition brought together hundreds of citizens to implement a Conservative and Pro-Family Agenda to confront the threats of the globalist pro-gender and pro-abortion agenda. This massive turnout will have a political impact that will be reflected in next year’s presidential and congressional elections.

The pro-abortion and LGTBI lobby has nightmares imagining the next administration continuing along these lines.

Every true pro-life activist longs for a world where there is full respect for life from conception, both in the written law and in public policies and in the discourse of its authorities.

Guatemala has taken very important steps in this direction.

 

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