Colombia overwhelmingly re-elects pro-life official

Bogotá, Colombia, Nov 29, 2012 / 16:02 pm

With 80 out 99 possible votes, the Colombian senate re-elected Attorney General Alejandro Ordonez on Nov. 27 to a new four-year term.

Ordonez, whose firm pro-life stance has come under fire over the past several months, beat out candidate Maria Mercedes Lopez, who received five votes and Orlando Gallo, who received only two.

"I thank God and thank the Senators for their independence and the officials of the Justice Department," Ordunez said in reaction to the news.

In his speech to the senate before the vote, he said that he did not have "the slightest regret upon finishing this term."

"There were good decisions and bad ones," he added, but he felt "absolutely certain and at peace" about the work he carried out.

Ordunez's re-election came despite heavy opposition led by local attorney Monica Roa and aided by Father Carlos Novoa of the Xaverian Pontifical University. The priest has publicly criticized the Attorney General for his pro-life stance and said he agreed with Roa regarding the debate over abortion.

In Colombia, abortion has been legal in cases of rape, fetal deformation or life of the mother since a Constitutional Court ruling in 2006.

The court ruling came despite overwhelming opposition from Colombians, who declare themselves to be pro-life by an 80 percent margin. In August of last year, a petition calling for constitutional protection of the unborn signed by five million Colombians was sent to the Senate.