Peruvian lawmaker praised for rejecting contraception plan

Lima, Peru, Apr 22, 2013 / 15:07 pm

The president of Peru's congressional Committee on Women and the Family has reaffirmed her commitment to resisting pressure from abortion and contraception advocacy groups.

During a committee hearing on April 17, Aurelia Tan de Inafuko promised to continue efforts to respect life in the country, while rejecting calls to distribute contraception to minors without parental notification. 

Carlos Polo, director of the Population Research Institute's Office for Latin America praised Congresswoman Inafuko for the "courageous" statement.

In statements to CNA, Polo warned that committee hearings are typically "one of the strategic places for pro-abortion organizations to triumph."

He revealed that a close advisor to Congresswoman Inafuko said she has "rejected the 'aid' that UNICEF, Promsex and other pro-abortion organizations have always offered to her predecessors."

This move, along with her public statements, are important to help push back against organizations in Peru that are seeking to change the law in order to allow minor children to receive contraceptives without parental consent, he said.

Such groups are also pushing for abortion legalization in some cases, although such proposals have been rejected by Peruvian government officials and congressional representatives.  

Polo voiced gratitude to the congresswoman for refusing to "bow to any pressure."

He also laid out arguments for why the U.N. Human Rights Commission's "recommendations" to legalize abortion in Peru and distribute contraceptives to students should be dismissed.

The recommendation does not reflect the official stance of the United Nations, he advised, because the human rights commission is an independent organ whose members exercise their functions in their own name.