In Support of Las 3 Causales 💚

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By Thelma Virginia Santos 

I have a friend who always says “todo lo jodido tiene un día” which loosely translates to "everything that is messed or screwed up has a day.” Today, March 8th is International Women's Day — and fuck, we really have been screwed. From the moment Eve decided to bite that apple until today, where we're forced to give birth even when our lives are in danger.

The Dominican Republic is one of the only five countries in the world where abortion is still illegal. The law currently penalizes both the woman consenting as well as the health professional that performs it. We continue to live in the 19th century because of the political pressure and control the Catholic Church has in our country. Although the constitution describes us as a secular country, that is only on paper.

Since 2000, many have been trying to modify the current penal code which dates back to 1884. The proposed modification includes three instances where abortion would be allowed: when the fetus is incompatible with life and will not survive, the mother's life is in danger, and in cases of rape or incest. This new penal code has gone round and round just because they don't want to include these three causes.

Now they want to vendernos gato por liebre, and supposedly pass the penal code, penalizing abortion, and examine the three possible causes mentioned before in a "special law." ¡Una ley especial parezco yo! That sounds like spinning to me, and that if we allow them to pass the penal code without the appropriate amendments, it will take us 20 more years to protect the health and dignity of Dominican girls and women.

So, yesterday, March 7th, once again, we marched to Congress to demand that the three causes move forward. Hundreds attended wearing something green and shouting: "Keep your rosaries out of our ovaries and your doctrines away from our vaginas.” Just as the ruling party can't ask its deputies to pass the law because it hinges on their beliefs, they have to understand that each girl and woman has her own and deserves the right to decide what to do if ever trapped in one of the three tragic situations. 

Girls, boys, young people, people with disabilities, feminists, human rights activists, and even church leaders participated in this demonstration to support this critical issue. Deputy José Horacio Rodriguez, who has been one of the spokespersons in the Congress for the penal code to get approved, was also there supporting.

There were also anti-rights attendees. The small group —more like tres gatos— could all fit under a tiny shadow and claimed to be praying for an end to abortion. We explained to them that prayer alone won’t get us far, that life is full of situations out of our control, and that nobody wants to go through an abortion. Abortion is not a trip to Disney.

It's not uncommon to hear the argument that if the woman "enjoyed herself," she should bear the responsibility of giving birth to a child, but I’d like to remind everyone that the man has to come for a woman to get pregnant — although pleasure is irrelevant when deciding to keep or not a pregnancy. 

What we're requesting is that the woman can interrupt the pregnancy under the three causes. Doing so does not force anyone to get an abortion. The current law forces the woman to carry a pregnancy that can end her life or that of her fetus, carry a pregnancy to term where she is aware her baby will not survive or is the product of rape or incest. All of these scenarios bring immense trauma. The law and the State don’t support women in these situations, nor do they guarantee sex education in schools to avoid unwanted pregnancies. As my grandmother would say, “Ni lavan, ni pre’tan la batea”.

Motherhood needs to be a conscious decision, as it is the foundation of who we are as human beings. Just like my friend, Gaby’s banner said: “Chosen motherhood changes the world.”

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