Santo Domingo.- The group “RD belongs to all” and other social organizations, stood today in front of the National Congress denouncing that the Chamber of Deputies is preparing to know a bill of the Penal Code that excludes the protection of the LGBTIQ+ community and the three causes of abortion.
After 10:00 a.m. this Monday, the organizations pointed out that the intention of the bicameral body is to approve a project by steam without dedicating the necessary time for its debate and consideration, a few days before the end of the current legislature.
with the slogan “for a Penal Code that protects our rights”the demonstrators affirmed that the new project was introduced and in less than 24 hours, the Permanent Justice Commission chaired by deputy Alexis Jiménez has a favorable report ready, which it proposes to present to the Plenary for a vote, with less than 48 hours remaining to complete the present legislature.
The protesters feared that, as rumored, the Permanent Commission of Justice of the Lower House would render a favorable report to the Plenary in the session convened for 12:00 noon today, an issue that did not happen.
It is recalled that last week, deputy José Horacio Rodríguez denounced through his twitter account, that said commission sought to give “a stalking stick” by rendering a report on the controversial piece.
Regarding the initiative, Juan Jocid, one of the representatives of the group, said that less than two weeks ago a new project was introduced in the Lower House that has several violations of the Constitution, including the article on discrimination.
Jocid referred to the initiative whose main proponent is the Perremeist deputy Elías Báez, specifically to articles 185 and 186 of the piece, which talks about the actions considered as discrimination and the sanctions for those who discriminate.
He explained that the piece excludes sexual orientation as a cause of discrimination, and that, in addition, it incorporates a paragraph that would allow freedom of worship and freedom of expression to be invoked as an excuse to commit acts of discrimination.
The RD es de Todes Collective also emphasized the issue of the three causes that would allow abortion, which in the legislative project speaks about abortion in articles 109 to 112.
The protesters call for abortion to be allowed when the life of the mother is in danger, the pregnancy is the product of rape or incest, or when the fetus has a congenital malformation.
Likewise, they affirmed that this initiative reduces the period of imprescriptibility of corruption crimes to 20 years, and expressed their concern about the impunity, according to them, that this draft Penal Code poses in the face of violent discipline in homes, taking into account account the high levels of violence to which Dominican children are exposed.
The Chamber of Deputies would end the legislative work today, although it is tomorrow at 12:00 at night when the ordinary legislature officially closes. On August 16, the second ordinary legislature will open.
