I remembered these events when a Portuguese colleague from Swedish class asked me to join him for a smoke. He had something to tell me. We went outside. He told me that he was going out with a Swedish girl. She was pregnant. I congratulated him. Then the anxious colleague, lost in thought, told me: \u201c<\/span>Eu n\u00e3o quero ser pai<\/span><\/i>.\u201d He continued on, telling me how he had asked her to throw out the fetus (as he worded it in Portuguese), but she refused. She clearly wanted to have the baby. I told him: <\/span>\u201cseu corpo, sua decis\u00e3o<\/span><\/i>.\u201d He threw the butt of his cigarette to the ground in desperation, and without pausing lit another. A little nervous and agitated with anger, he told me his plan. His idea was to bring her to a secluded beach in Portugal and kill her. Then he would weigh the body down with rocks and throw her to the sea. I thought about this for a few weeks. The next time I saw him he was happy. He had convinced her to terminate the pregnancy.<\/span><\/p>\n Another time, an African colleague asked me to loan him some money. <\/span>He did this occasionally, sending the money to his family<\/span>, but this time it was because his girlfriend was pregnant and through a mutual agreement they had decided to abort. I was surprised because they were very Christian people. He explained: He was supporting his two children in Africa, and his mother, nephew, and sister-in-law as well. His brother was irresponsible. His current girlfriend was a single mother. So, having one more child would take resources away from one or two in Africa. This was his reasoning. Wouldn\u2019t the aborted baby be a savior? <\/span>I saw the Lamb of God on the cross.<\/span> I thought about this as he finished his story.<\/span><\/p>\n These are just a few stories that came to my mind recently when a few days ago abortion was legalized in Argentina. The question of abortion has arisen constantly since my youth, so I was not surprised by these memories. It seems to be something that has always happened. Like the Spanish prof and her stories, my classmate with the life-long wounded eye or the arrested doctor, there are those who seek out abortion and those who do not. Some chose it out of necessity, others for desperation. Others don\u2019t seek it, yet find it, while others don\u2019t pursue it at all. What would I have done if I were that doctor? And if I were the desperate girl? If I were my Portuguese colleague, would I have gone to Portugal to commit femicide out of desperation? Would I have given in and agreed to an abortion that I didn\u2019t want? If I had to choose to support either a family in Africa or a family in Guatemala\u2026would I have chosen abortion? These are metaphysical-moral questions, though there is a difference between a political question and a metaphysical-moral one, as Dar\u00edo Sztajnszrajber said at an informational meeting on the voluntary termination of pregnancy in Argentina in 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n In that talk, Sztajnszrajber mentioned the philosopher John Rawls and his book <\/span>Justice as Fairness: Political not Metaphysical<\/span><\/i>. He synthesized\u2014very well, in about seven minutes\u2014the main ideas of the book, expressing that in the land of the gauchos the focus has been on metaphysics instead of politics. The decision to abort is first a political question and secondly an individual one. Whoever wants to abort has the right to decide to do so, and whoever doesn\u2019t want to doesn\u2019t. This discourse makes me think about Guatemala again, because there is a strong relationship between religious organizations and political interference. There are frequently those who are against abortion, though they themselves teach that salvation is an individual matter based on goodness and \u201cGiving unto Caesar what is Caesar\u2019s.\u201d The body of Christ leads us to the absurd conclusion that the legalization of abortion means it would be committed compulsively without any responsibility.<\/span><\/p>\n Because of this, my brothers, I believe that it is just and necessary that you open your Bibles to Romans 14:13: \u201cTherefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother.\u201d And now, my brothers, turn to John 8:7: \u201cBut when they continued asking him; he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin, let him first cast a stone at her.\u201d Now go and draw your own conclusions.<\/span><\/p>\n Luis Enrique Morales was born in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala in 1989, and is a writer, poet, and columnist. A 2012 graduate of the University of Galileo, he currently lives in Stockholm, where he teaches and is completing postgraduate studies in Educational Sciences (Pedagogy) at the University of Stockholm.<\/b><\/p>\n The previous article was originally published in <\/b>gaZeta<\/b><\/a>, a nonprofit, lay, nonpartisan digital media source open to all opinions. The original article can be read at this link: <\/b>https:\/\/gazeta.gt\/dad-al-cesar-y-siempre-a-cesar-una-reflexion-sobre-el-aborto\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Cover Image: Providav Lugo<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Luis Enrique Morales\u00a0 Abortion is a controversial topic even in countries where it is legal. There are generally two camps: those who are in favor of abortion, and those who are against it. I personally remember my first experiences with the topic back around the start of secondary school. A Spanish teacher told us […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":8167,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[453,429,422],"tags":[892,2708,2707,2711,2710,2709],"class_list":["post-8184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-frontpage-en","category-health","category-women","tag-abortion","tag-abortion-approval-in-argentina","tag-abortion-guatemala","tag-luis-enrique-morales-en","tag-reflection-on-abortion","tag-render-unto-caesar-that-which-is-caesars"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/providav-lugo.gif?fit=512%2C321&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7ljt7-280","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4476,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/uncategorized\/morales-and-trump-weaponizing-religion-to-gain-impunity\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":8184,"position":0},"title":"Morales and Trump: Weaponizing Religion to Gain Impunity","author":"EntreMundos","date":"11 septiembre, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"President Jimmy Morales of Guatemala is following the lead of President Trump as he uses issues like abortion and \u201cfamily values\u201d to maintain power in spite of obvious incompetence and criminality. In the US, white evangelicals are the group most likely to forgive criminality, corruption, and un-Christian behavior as long\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abFrontPage\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"FrontPage","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/frontpage-en\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/morales.jpeg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/morales.jpeg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/morales.jpeg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/morales.jpeg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10091,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/women\/a-tragedy-that-isnt-talked-about\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":8184,"position":1},"title":"A tragedy that isn\u2019t talked about","author":"EntreMundos","date":"21 septiembre, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Lives silenced, a tragedy that isn\u2019t talked about, is a study from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), that exposes the link between suicide and pregnancy in adolescent women.\u00a0 It was presented for the first time in August 2019, and in 2021 the second edition was produced. Esperanza\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abHealth\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/health\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/web-1.png?fit=462%2C309&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6114,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/politics\/aldo-davila-a-congressmember-for-human-rights\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":8184,"position":2},"title":"Aldo D\u00e1vila: A Congressmember for Human Rights","author":"Majo Recinos","date":"14 enero, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Jason Klarl and Karen Legrand Below, we present an interview with Aldo D\u00e1vila, elected member to Guatemalan Congress for the period 2020-2024. In this interview, we had the opportunity not only to learn a little about Aldo's life, but also about his proposals and challenges as a person, activist and\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abFrontPage\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"FrontPage","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/frontpage-en\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/61662137_352101998781504_4418702726817382400_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C796&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/61662137_352101998781504_4418702726817382400_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C796&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/61662137_352101998781504_4418702726817382400_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C796&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/61662137_352101998781504_4418702726817382400_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C796&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/61662137_352101998781504_4418702726817382400_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C796&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4418,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/uncategorized\/the-art-of-protest-mario-valdez\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":8184,"position":3},"title":"The Art of Protest: Mario Valdez","author":"EntreMundos","date":"4 septiembre, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The day after Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales ordered armored vehicles donated by the US to surround the offices of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), Mario Valdez got to work in Guatemala City\u2019s Constitution Square. By Richard Brown - Editor \/ EntreMundos Valdez went to the square because,\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCulture\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/culture\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/mariovaldezarte.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/mariovaldezarte.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/mariovaldezarte.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/mariovaldezarte.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/mariovaldezarte.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3239,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/women\/the-shocking-statistics-of-guatemalas-teen-mothers\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":8184,"position":4},"title":"Guatemala’s teen mothers: behind the shocking statistics","author":"EntreMundos","date":"8 agosto, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"In 2014, 71,000 pregnancies were registered in girls 10-19 years old. Photo: Girl at the kite festival of Sumpango, Sacatep\u00e9quez. Photo by Patricia Mac\u00edas. By Patricia Schwartz The annual \u201cOSAR\u201d (Observation of Sexual and Reproductive Health) study reveals the history of the precarious situation of underage mothers in Guatemala, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abFrontPage\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"FrontPage","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/frontpage-en\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/madresmenoresimg2.jpg?fit=1200%2C833&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/madresmenoresimg2.jpg?fit=1200%2C833&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/madresmenoresimg2.jpg?fit=1200%2C833&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/madresmenoresimg2.jpg?fit=1200%2C833&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/madresmenoresimg2.jpg?fit=1200%2C833&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9519,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/health\/the-pressing-need-for-comprehensive-education-regarding-sexual-and-reproductive-rights\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":8184,"position":5},"title":"The Pressing Need for Comprehensive Education Regarding Sexual and Reproductive Rights","author":"EntreMundos","date":"15 febrero, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Maria Fernanda Sandoval Criminal Attorney Specializing in Child Protection \u00a0 Reproductive and sexual rights are human rights which have inherent characteristics that are inalienable and untransferable.\u00a0 They are recognized by United Nations established standards specifically by the UN's Developmental Assistance Framework. Reproductive and sexual rights include the right to\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abFrontPage\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"FrontPage","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/frontpage-en\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/22-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/22-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/22-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/22-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/22-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8184"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8186,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8184\/revisions\/8186"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/pareja-apoyo-depresion-estres-mental-concepto-frustracion_140689-1105.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>There is a social, psychological, religious, and economic protocol surrounding the voluntary termination of life (as seen in the movie <\/span>Nymphomaniac: Volume II<\/span><\/i>). Our religious tendencies also lead us to believe that prohibition is the solution. What is there to say about all of the abortions conducted in inhumane conditions? <\/span>How many pregnant girls and young mothers?<\/span> It is also clear that abortion is something that will keep happening, and to prohibit it outright is absurd. I think that the approval of abortion necessitates a very precise plan from the government that respects liberty, guarantees the health of the mother, and seeks equality. While that girl who ran to the doctor was in crisis, her boyfriend simply disappeared and her family was nowhere to be seen. She was alone and nobody was there to guarantee that the clinic met any minimum standards.<\/span><\/p>\n