Not only can the political temperature rise as a result of political events, but also as a result of ideological or religious issues that detonate conflicts between opposing groups. In Nuevo Leon, a state currently governed by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional, PRI) and whose Congress is dominated by such party, a debate is underway that has extended beyond its borders. This debate features irreconcilable positions between those who oppose abortion at any cost and those who defend the rights of women to make this decision. The debate pits those who are pro-choice and pro-life against one another. This general discussion has found a place in Nuevo Leon, where legislation is pending to establish the right to life, beginning from conception. With the support and approval of the Catholic church, the right-wing National Action Party (Partido Acción Nacional, PAN), strangely enough along with the support of PRI and with the opposition of the PRD, is about to succeed in amending the State Constitution to guarantee the right to life from conception. This scenario is uncommon, given that other groups in Mexico support policies that defer to women’s choices, such as in the Federal District and Guerrero, where legislation is pending to legalize abortion. The proposal for the reform of the State Constitution of Nuevo Leon states that:The State acknowledges, protects and guards the right to life of every human being. From the moment of conception, a person’s right to life is subject to protection under the law and he/she is deemed to be born for all pertinent effects, until their natural death, notwithstanding the exceptions set forth in the Penal Code for the State of Nuevo Leon.Prior to approval, a national political debate on this subject will occur, given the fight between the pro-life movement and those who consider it necessary to maintain a secular state without the interference of the Catholic church in public policy on reproductive rights.
