Amnesty International Should Support Abortion Rights

Dr. Carmen Angélica Valenzuela, a pediatrician, is senior program officer in the International Department at Catholics for a Free Choice and a commissioner of the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women & Children.

Amnesty International has come under fire from the Catholic hierarchy in the U.S. and the U.K. as it considers whether to include access to abortion in the list of rights that it supports. Many other organizations and individuals have long made the case that access to safe abortion services is a basic human right, one that saves thousands of women's lives and protects the health of many, many more. While the U.S., Canada and New Zealand have voted in favor, members in other nations are in the process of consulting and voting on the proposal. While the final decision won't be made until the end of next year, this debate is long overdue.

On February 10, 1990-the day Nelson Mandela was released from prison in South Africa-I was kidnapped by the Guatemalan government's notorious G-2 intelligence unit. For eight days, I was bound, beaten and physically and psychologically tortured in an attempt to gain information about the guerilla movement that I simply did not have. Like many of my medical colleagues, I had supported the opposition in Guatemala, providing medical supplies and emergency assistance to those who opposed the regime. I am proud to this day of the work we did.