The government of President Leonel Fernández, with the support of the powerful Catholic Church and the far right (known as the Nazionalistas), will soon adopt a new constitution that will set the country back decades.
The new constitution is part of a ruling class attack on working people in a desperate attempt to preserve the status quo in the midst of the biggest world economic crisis since the Great Depression.
Thus, the government seeks to legitimize racism, sexism and homophobia by banning abortion under any circumstance including rape, incest and if the health of the mother is at risk; stripping the children of undocumented Haitian immigrants of their Dominican citizenship; and finally, defining the institution of marriage as “the union between a man and a woman”, excluding same-sex relationships in the process. This is a blow to the fight for women’s and LGBT equality and immigrant rights in the island.
Resistance to the new constitution is spreading throughout the country. According to a new Gallup poll, 80% of the population supports abortion.
Furthermore, immigrant rights and women and LGBT organizations are demanding that the government do not go through with the constitution and that abortion be legalized. Activists are also demanding a referendum to re-write a new, democratic constitution for the people.
We, the undersigned, call on the Dominican government to amend the new constitutional provisions that will negatively impact women, undocumented Haitian immigrants and their descendants and LGBT people.
We call on social justice organizations and progressive individuals here in the United States and worldwide to express solidarity with all the sectors of the Dominican population affected by the new constitution by picketing the Dominican government diplomatic representations and consulates in every corner of the world.
Sign the petition at <ipetitions.com/petition/Say_No_To_Dominican_Constitution/>.
¿Por qué estoy a favor del aborto terapéutico?
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