On the occasion of the so-called "National Forum on Voluntary Motherhood and the Decriminalization of Abortion" held in the city of Tuxla Gutierrez, Chiapas, we, the Bishops of Chiapas, proclaim the following:

1. Moral laws and objective truth are not determined by the amount of pressure exerted on the Legislative Authorities. Therefore, even though many people might unite to urge that the congress of the State of Chiapas proceed with its Decriminalization of Abortion bill, and were our congressmen to allow themselves to be swayed by publicity, acceding to such demands, indeed abortion would still be a crime, simply because it is the murder of a helpless and innocent human being.

2. According to scientists, from the very moment when the egg and the sperm unite a human being begins to exist, whose right to life must be respected; therefore, it is irrelevant to wait for three months. From the moment of conception a human being exists. Is it right to kill him for being tiny and helpless? Following this criterion, many sick, old, handicapped, and even derelicts would have to be eliminated.

3. A woman is not the absolute owner of her own body, much less the owner of another's life. She cannot, therefore, dispose of the fruit of her womb as if it were an adhesion; another human being is present who is distinct from his mother not withstanding that he is dependent upon her. To advocate the right of voluntary motherhood while rejecting the rights of a conceived child is an aberration and an injustice; it is letting ourselves be ruled by the law of the jungle, where the strong vanquish and the weak are destroyed. Every woman is free to conceive or not (although dependent upon the manner whereby it is done) (1); but no woman is morally free to get rid of a pregnancy once it has started.

4. To claim that abortion is a matter that should be decided only by women is to consider them the sole owners of their offspring. Their children do not belong to them as though they were mere objects. If our own mothers had thought this way, many of us would not have been born. Children are not the property of women. They belong to God, Who has entrusted them to their parents, and to society. Therefore, the Church will always defend them. Moreover, the unborn child is also the fruit of his father, and is not the sole creation of his mother. Therefore, not only women have the right to voice opinions and make decisions concerning this matter, about which we all should be concerned; for human life is involved.

5. If a woman, whose conscience is correctly formed, does not want to conceive, she should not behave like a libertine nor act irresponsibly in avoiding pregnancy. As to ways of avoiding conception, the Church approves only natural means, but she respects the decisions about intervals between pregnancies made by spouses whose consciences are correctly formed. Intrauterine devices cause abortions, and therefore are prohibited. If the pregnancy is the result of rape, even within the marriage, it is much more just that the child be born and given up for adoption than be killed in the mother's womb, which is ALWAYS gravely unjust in ALL cases.

6. It is asserted that many women die or risk their lives from clandestine abortions and that, therefore, abortion should no longer be considered a crime, and that the State should even provide safe "clinics" for danger-free abortions and that our taxes be used for murder. The decriminalization of abortion is not the solution to this problem. The solution is to reject abortion and instead to help in every way the women in distress so that they do not stain their consciences with a sin so cowardly.

7. To this Forum was invited a group of foreigners that calls itself "Catholic Women for Choice", that is, women who say they support legalized abortion. If this be true, we have to affirm with utmost clarity that such a position nullified their claims to be Catholics. They have excommunicated themselves; they have placed themselves outside the Church. A truly Catholic woman is one who accepts the Church's doctrines. If she does not accept them, she is free to change her religion or to lose it (2); but she has no right to use the word "Catholic"; because she is not a Catholic. Such manipulation of this word is deplorable, for only confusion results. Could it be a ploy by the organizers of the Forum to make people believe that within the Church there is no unanimity on this point? The Devil works that way.

8. Now that elections are close at hand, it must also be stated that both Catholic and non-Catholic Christians and all other persons whose knowledge of medicine and philosophy is sound, cannot support with their votes a party or candidate who promotes or sanctions the decriminalization of abortion. To vote for them is to be an accomplice.

9. Although we trust that our authorities are sensible and not easily impressed, it is nevertheless necessary that the faithful and others of good judgment send letters and petitions to the Chamber of Deputies of the State of Chiapas, in Tuxla Gutierrez, so that they hear not just from women who perhaps have had numerous abortions and who seek to unburden their consciences by supporting the legalization of abortion. We must convince our friends and neighbors to do likewise, if they agree that the lives of the unborn must be protected. This must be done as a veritable apostolate in defense of life. Also, we must speak personally with the congressmen of our respective districts, or write to them, demanding that they do not assume powers that were not conferred upon them by the electorate. A letter could save thousands of lives.

10. A sound program of sexual education based upon moral and religious principles, and not one reduced to genital information, must be imparted to children, adolescents, young adults, and adults a program that emphasizes the dignity of both sexes and God's purposes for sexuality and the consequences of abusing them. This kind of education must instill respect, prudence, purity, and chastity and not libertinism and pleasure-seeking. (3) Pornography must be prohibited in the printed word, motion-pictures, recordings, and songs; at least parents must ensure that their children not be tainted by it. This is the way to defend the fundamental values of the Family and of Society. This is the way to not have to bemoan unwanted pregnancies and induced abortions, with the throes of conscience that follow.

"If you want peace, then defend life." Chiapas, Mexico, July 1, 1991.
Samuel Ruiz Garcia
Bishop of San Cristobal de Las Casas

Felipe Aguirre Franco
Bishop of Tuxla

Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel
Bishop of Tapachula

Translated by John C. Moral.
September, 1991.