The new pro-life caucus established to preserve life, family, and religious freedom has gained the support of 54 members of Colombia’s Congress, including representatives and senators, it was reported this week.
Several lawmakers and the United for Life group released a statement on social media on September 21 announcing the launch of the new multiparty caucus.
Congressmen from the Conservative Party, Fair and Free Colombia, Democratic Center, Liberal Party, Radical Change, Green Alliance, and the Social Party of National Unity requested its establishment, and the steering committees of the Senate and House of Representatives granted their proposal.
The new caucus “will offer continuity to the work done by the Pro-Life Caucus that was created in the year 2020,” according to the announcement.
According to the statement, “it will be composed of congressmen who support the protection of life from conception to natural death, the preservation of the family in accordance with the terms of Article 42 of the Political Constitution, and the defence of the guarantees for the exercise of freedom of religion and worship in light of recent national and international events.”
The pro-life caucus members said in a video uploaded on Twitter that “there is a tremendous commitment to life, family, and religious freedom.”
There are 25 members and 29 senators in the newly formed pro-life caucus. Yenica Sugein Acosta, Daniel Restrepo, Teresa Enriquez, Juan Espinal, Mauricio Giraldo, and Luis Miguel López are some of its participants.
The Colombian Constitutional Court decided on a 5-4 vote in February to make abortions up to six months, or 24 weeks of pregnancy, legal.
In May, the Constitutional Court decided to legalise assisted suicide by a 6-3 margin.
The Catholic chapel at El Dorado International Airport, which is outside of Bogotá, was demolished by Colombian authorities in late August in order to transform it into “a place for prayer and impartial thought.”
Even though there is already a space designated for interreligious services, a member of the Liberal Party recently introduced a measure in the House of Representatives to demolish the Catholic chapel in the capitol building where the Congress convenes and convert it into “a space of neutral worship.”