Archbishop denounces legislature’s initiative to sterilize poor Argentineans

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Apr 27, 2004 / 22:00 pm

The Archbishop of La Plata, Héctor Aguer, denounced an initiative from the Legislature of Buenos Aires to promote the surgical sterilization of men and women among the poorest members of the population.

During a TV show last saturday in Buenos Aires, the Archbishop denounced the initiative which, because it is seen as a means of curbing poverty, “will be applied to poor people,” he said. According to Archbishop Aguer, although the project requires written, informed consent, on the part of the sterilizee, “it is easy to obtain this consent by propaganda, pressure, or a little money among poor people”.

He said that Argentina may imitate “the totalitarian regimes in which sterilization” was applied in massive way. “It happened in China, India and Peru, as a response to requirements from international organizations such as the United Nations and great financial centers of the world” that don’t want poor countries with large populations.

The Archbishop emphasized that Argentina needs “an effective family support policy in order to help poor families surmount their poverty and misery.”

This initiative, he concluded, “has a destructive power that I hope will not prosper, but we must be on guard,” against further such initiatives that attempt to deal with the problem of poverty by seeking to eliminate the poor.