Head, heart and feet planted in the Dark Ages.

Dominican Republic legislators kneel and cave to the pressure wielded by Catholic Church lobbyists of medieval minds.

A truck full of female police officers, dressed in black riot protection gear, pulled up in front of the General Assembly building here to confront and control the crowd of women who had gathered on Tuesday to protest a "right to life" amendment to the Dominican constitution.

Having failed to reverse the country’s strict abortion laws two years ago, various women’s groups assembled to protest a new constitutional amendment, Article 30, which reads: "The right to life is inviolable from conception until death" – for the fetus, that is, not for the pregnant woman. The amendment was introduced along with 43 others by President Leonel Fernandez, who asked for his entire party’s support. The debate has pitted civil society and medical groups against the heavy influence of the Catholic Church.

Both the College of Physicians and the Dominican Gynecology and Obstetrics Society have public positions in favour of therapeutic abortion to save the life of the mother or in the case of rape or incest.

More murderous misogyny from the Vatican Taliban. More mothers, wives, daughters, sisters dead from illegal abortions.