Church in Costa Rica objects to plan to legalize abortion

Mar 17, 2005 / 22:00 pm

The Special Committee for the Defense of Life of the Bishops Conference of Costa Rica decided this week to send legal, medical and ethical objections to proposed changes in the law that would legalize abortion to the President and leaders of Congress in that country.

According to Alexandra Loria, member of the Committee, the proposed changes contain measures that, in addition to favoring abortion, also promote the use of contraception from a very young age.  Specifically, in a section on sexual and reproductive rights, the proposal refers to abortion as a “right of all women.”

The President of the Bishops Conference of Costa Rica, Archbishop Jose Francisco Ulloa, underscored the importance of the work of the Committee for the Defense of Life, “because, in addition to the recurring appearance of Government proposals that are contrary to the country’s laws and to Costa Rican society, we are experiencing the imposition of strategies to legalize abortion in Costa Rica.”

“It cannot be that, while we Christians continue to face such a serious adversary alone, organizations that promote a culture of death collaborate together and share well-defined objectives and strategies with regards to the legalization and decriminalization of abortion,” the archbishop said. 

The chairman of the Social Affairs Committee, Congressman Juan Jose Vargas Fallas, said he would “sharply oppose any law that would break with Christian principles, especially if it is a bill that would attack the life of a human being.”