Bishops reject proposal to include right to abortion in Ecuadoran constitution

Quito, Ecuador, Jun 30, 2008 / 15:02 pm

The Bishops’ Conference of Ecuador released a statement last week rejecting the approval by the Constitutional Assembly of an ambiguous clause that would open the door to abortion, and instead called on members of the Assembly to enshrine the inviolable right to life in the country’s new Constitution.

The bishops said the approval of the text, which took place on June 24, has caused “great concern and anxiety” among the people.  It states, “Each person has the right to decide when and how many children they will have.”

“This right is presented as unlimited and absolute, without a conditional clause respecting the rights established in other articles, according to the formula repeatedly used in this section,” the bishops said.

“Anyone can see that the possible decision to abort at any time during pregnancy is being made into a right,” the bishops continued. “The father or the mother of the baby, with their right to decide when they want to have a child, could decide not to have it the night before the delivery.”

They urged the Assembly members not to trample upon the respect for life that characterizes Ecuadoran culture and society.  The entire reform of the Constitution would be “contaminated” by the State’s “immoral indifference to the deliberate death of the innocent,” the bishops stated.

“We pray to the Lord that this text would not be made legal.  We urge everyone to use common sense in order to foster unity in society and to avoid damaging the aspirations of hundreds of thousands of Ecuadorans,” they said.