San Juan.- The governor of Puerto Rico, Jenniffer González, announced this Thursday the signing of a measure that classifies the death of the unborn as murder, which its detractors denounce as a step to criminalize abortion.
The new law amends Article 92 of the Penal Code of Puerto Rico to redefine that “human being” will include the conceived at any stage of gestation within the maternal uterus.You may be interested in: Puerto Rico bids farewell with emotion and music to Rafael Ithier
“The legislation aims to maintain consistency between civil and criminal provisions by recognizing the unborn as a human being”, stated the government’s statement.
The measure was presented by the governor to the Legislature a month ago, sparking strong criticism at the time from the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU, in English) of Puerto Rico, among others. The PIP delegations in the House and Senate expressed their “forceful” rejection of the governor’s proposal and her intention to “absolutely outlaw women’s autonomy over their bodies.” For her part, Annette Martínez, executive director of the ACLU of Puerto Rico, assured that the project constitutes “an absolute criminalization of abortion in Puerto Rico”. Since the United States Supreme Court overturned the historic ruling known as ‘Roe v. Wade’ in June 2022, which had guaranteed the right to abortion since 1973, numerous bills have been introduced in Puerto Rico to limit abortion, but all have failed so far. The difference, according to experts, is that under the federal Constitution abortion is not a fundamental right, but in Puerto Rico, a Free Associated State of the U.S., it is protected by the constitutional right to privacy. EFE
