海角大神

Is Ecuador's Correa blurring the lines between religion and politics?

Ecuador has made great strides in reducing teen pregnancies. But a presidential appointee to run the initiative signals a more conservative approach. 

When President Rafael Correa learned Pope Francis would visit Ecuador this summer he tweeted, 鈥淢y joy is immense!鈥�

President Correa has long identified as a leftist and a humanist, but during his seven years in office his Catholic faith has increasingly come to influence his聽policies on education, reproductive health, and poverty reduction.聽

Late last year, President Correa appointed a pro-life head to a national family planning program who favors an abstinence-only approach. Meanwhile, he aggressively stifled proposals to amend abortion laws to allow for it in cases of rape. Taken together, these moves signal a conservative shift that some observers say could undermine Ecuador's聽progress on maternal health, particularly among teen, indigenous, and poor families.

鈥淭his isn鈥檛 a debate about morals, but about not having access to information, to methods of contraception and abortion,鈥� says Virginia G贸mez de la Torre, a physician and reproductive rights activist in Quito. 鈥淏ut the moral and religious voices are louder and more influential than we are.鈥�

Strides in maternal health

Ecuador has sharply reduced teen pregnancies over the past four years. Pregnancies among young women between the ages of 11 and 14 have decreased 18 percent since 2011, the same year that Ecuador created its聽National Interagency Strategy for Family Planning and the Prevention of Teen Pregnancies (ENIPLA). Led by the聽ministries of education and health, it has an annual budget of more than $2 million and focuses on preventive doctor visits and family planning, including access to the morning-after pill.

But last November, Correa made a surprise shift at ENIPLA by folding it into the executive branch and appointing a pro-life activist as its head.聽M贸nica Hern谩ndez, a political appointee associated with the conservative Opus Dei organization, is been a vocal opponent of ENIPLA since its creation, and her appointment was welcomed by a growing crop of pro-life groups here.聽

鈥淲e applaud the new leadership of ENIPLA and trust that it will change its strategy,鈥� says law student 脕ngel Eduardo Gaibor Orellana, a spokesperson for Ecuador Provida, a pro-life organization. 鈥淣ow it can focus on family values and responsibility, as a way to prevent future abortions.鈥�

Ecuador is among the most Catholic nations in Latin America: An estimated 79 percent of the population identifies as Catholic. Some聽聽say abortion is morally wrong, as do 95 percent of Protestants in the country, according to a 2014 Pew Research Center survey.

The country also has the highest teen pregnancy rate in South America: 81 births per 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 19. From 2004 until 2011, before the creation of ENIPLA, the rate of teenage pregnancy grew by 74 percent. 聽

Correa had a Catholic upbringing, and attends mass every聽Sunday with his family.聽Ever since Pope Francis was appointed to head the church in 2013, Correa has glowingly referred to the pope in his weekly state broadcasts. Suddenly he found a religious leader who is a fellow Latin American and who shares Correa鈥檚 views of a church that cares about the poor.

Ms. G贸mez de la聽Torre聽says differing churches haven鈥檛 always gotten along in the past.聽But Evangelicals and Catholics do agree on reproductive rights.聽鈥淲hen it comes to women鈥檚 access,鈥澛燝贸mez de la Torre聽says,聽"Evangelicals and Catholics come together and have grown in influence under Correa.鈥澛�

The 'government's job'?

Abortion has also become a contentious issue.聽Last year, pressure from public health and gender rights activists led assemblywoman Paola Pab贸n, a member of Correa鈥檚 party, to challenge a 75 year-old abortion law.聽That put her at odds with the president, underscoring his conservative shift.聽

Ecuador's Constitution 鈥済uarantees and protects life鈥� from the moment of conception. Abortion is permitted in two instances: When a pregnancy threatens a woman鈥檚 life, or when it is the consequence of the rape of a woman with a mental disability.

During the first heated debate of the proposed amendment,聽Ms. Pab贸n and fellow assemblywomen聽proposed decriminalizing abortion in any case of rape.聽But Correa publicly chided Pab贸n. 鈥淚鈥檝e spoken very clearly,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nything that challenges life from the moment of conception is quite simply, treason.鈥澛�

He threatened to leave the presidency if Pab贸n and others voted for the measure. When Pab贸n cast a 鈥測es鈥� vote on the measure,聽her party, Alianza PAIS,聽docked her salary for a month, a common punishment by parties seeking to keep members in line.聽

As of today, an illegal abortion can lead to a five-year prison sentence for the woman seeking an abortion, and a two-to-five-year sentence for her doctor.聽

In the end, the only change that lawmakers made was to reword an exemption category in the abortion law from "idiot" to "mentally disabled," referring to rape victims permitted a legal abortion.聽鈥淚n Ecuador, women have been treated, and will continue to be treated, like idiots. Other people keep making decisions about our own bodies," complains聽M贸nica Mancero Acosta, a political science professor in Quito鈥檚 Universidad Central del Ecuador.聽

During a recent state broadcast, Correa defended his views on abortion and family planning.聽鈥淧eople are saying that I want to impose my religious views on them, because I鈥檓 making a case for abstinence,鈥澛爃e said. 鈥淭his shouldn鈥檛 have to be the government's job. That responsibility should fall on you.鈥�