Urgent Action: Attack on Sexual and Reproductive Rights (Honduras: UA 9.21)

On 21 January, the Honduran Congress approved the first reading of a bill that would reform the Constitution to increase the number of votes needed to change the articles that prohibit abortion and marriage between people of the same sex. If ratified, the bill would effectively block future attempts to decriminalize abortion under any circumstances or to legislate in favor of marriage equality. The bill must be ratified by three quarters of Congress and will be discussed on 28 January. It is expected to be voted on this same day. We demand Congress reject this pernicious bill.

TAKE ACTION:

1. Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.
2. Click here to let us know the actions you took on Urgent Action 9.21. It’s important to report because we share the total number with the officials we are trying to persuade and the people we are trying to help.

CONTACT INFORMATION

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SAMPLE LETTER Dear President Oliva, I write to you as I am extremely concerned about the implications of a bill that was recently approved by the Congress of Honduras in its first reading and will be imminently presented to Congress for ratification. By seeking to make it essentially impossible to block any future attempts to change Honduras’ legislation regarding access to abortion and marriage equality, the bill represents a shameful attack on sexual and reproductive rights and a serious breach of Honduras’ international human rights obligations. If ratified, the bill would perpetuate a violation of human rights, specifically the sexual and reproductive rights that women, girls, people with reproductive capacity and LGBTI people have suffered for decades in Honduras. Restricting access to abortion causes a serious and urgent public health problem, leading to avoidable deaths of women and pregnant people, generally from the most vulnerable sectors of the population. A vote in favor of this bill is a vote in favor of clandestine abortions and a vote against public health and human rights. Equally, by continuing down the path of prohibiting marriage between people of the same sex, Honduras will sustain inequalities, perpetuate discrimination and stigmatization of LGBTI people, preventing them from enjoying a whole range of other rights. Same-sex relationships need to be recognized equally and on the same basis and with the same rights as those of opposite-sex couples. Therefore, I call on to you to honor your commitment and meet Honduras’ obligations under international human rights law to respect, protect, and fulfill the rights of women, girls and LGBTI people to life, health, autonomy and dignity by rejecting this pernicious bill. Yours sincerely, [YOUR NAME] ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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