A presidential election means life or death when it comes to the administration’s position on abortion. We’ve experienced that vividly with Donald Trump, the most pro-life president in America’s history and Joe Biden, the most pro-abortion. Further, that political influence – in favor of or against the unborn – is felt well beyond our nation’s borders.
I serve in a volunteer capacity as president of the International Right to Life Federation. We have been elated with Guatemala’s president, Alejandro Giammattei who assumed office on January 14, 2020. Since then, he has been a pro-life sensation in Latin America.
While speaking at an event in Washington, DC this past December, President Giammattei announced his intention to declare Guatemala the pro-life capital of Latin America at a March 9, 2022 event. He stated, “Every individual deserves to have their lives protected from conception to natural death. …It is totally false that abortion is a human right. Any effort to try to impose abortion in a country is undue interference in international affairs.”
President Giammattei
During his time as president, Giammattei has already experienced the interference he warned about. A recent Democracy Summit hosted by the White House denied the Guatemalan president an invitation to attend even though the country is a democratic nation.
It is widely believed that the snub is a result of Giammattei’s solid pro-life credentials, a position he holds both from a perspective of faith and his profession as a medical doctor. “Life should be protected from conception,” he said.
Further, President Giammattei is leading an initiative in his country to advance policies that will both protect innocent human life from conception and defend the family.
All of this likely indicates Mr. Biden is not yet finished with the Guatemalan president. In the past, we have seen adversarial administrations withhold funding and other forms of support in order to pressure pro-life nations to pass laws allowing unrestrained abortion on demand.
Something tells me Alejandro Giammattei is up to the challenge.