October 27, 2006 [LINK / comment]

Ban on abortion in Nicaragua?

With national elections less than two weeks away, the Congress in Nicaragua passed a measure that would outlaw abortion in all cases, even when the life of the mother is threatened. "Fifty-two lawmakers voted for the measure. Nine lawmakers abstained, and 29 others did not attend the legislative session." Apparently no member of Congress dared to vote "no." See CNN.com. It is hard to ignore the probable connection between this action and the election campaign, as conservative forces seek to drive a wedge between the leftist candidate Daniel Ortega and Catholic voters. Ortega seems to have become a "born again Catholic." It is worth recalling that a large part of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua was solidly behind Ortega's Sandinista government in the 1980s, an expression of the leftist "Liberation Theology" movement.