Ana María Jiménez Ortiz, a congresswoman for the Mexican political party PAN, has caused outrage by saying that gay people should not be allowed to marry because they don't face each other during sex.

According to Mexican media reports Jimenez Ortiz told supporters during a forum on whether to legalize gay marriage in the state of Puebla that “marriage should only be considered in those relationships in which the members have sex while facing each other.”

"A marriage should only be considered amongst people that can look at each other in the eye while having sexual intercourse," Jiménez Ortiz said. "Something that does not happen in homosexual couples."

Download the new Independent Premium app Sharing the full story, not just the headlines

The politician also reportedly cited a debunked study by Mark Regnerus of the University of Texas, which was published last year.

The sociologist claimed that children who grew up in households where at least one parent had had a same-sex relationship reported higher rates of problems.

At the time of publication the report caused an outcry and has since been widely criticised. Despite this it is frequently used as evidence in the same-sex marriage debate.

Following Jimenez Ortiz's comments she came under attack on Twitter for what she reportedly said.

SDP Noticias claims she made a statement before making her account private in which she said: "I made clear my position on the issues in a respectful manner and with conviction, it is the only way we will come to common ground on these important issues."

According to the Latin Times she added: "I'm sorry that my participation was taken out of context and doesn't sum up the explanation that I made and that this has generated a series of attacks towards me on social networks, from people that unfortunately were not there and only have information from one source."

PAN is one of three main political parties in Mexico. The Mexican Supreme Court has recently ruled that same-sex marriages performed in states where it is legal shall be recognized in those where it is not.