Feminists attack Catholic University over rector’s offer to adopt unwanted baby

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Aug 10, 2006 / 22:00 pm

A group of 30 feminists led a march to the Catholic University of La Plata on Tuesday attacking it’s rector for offering to adopt a baby who was saved from abortion last week.

The march was the latest chapter in the case of a mentally handicapped woman who became pregnant supposedly through rape and whose parents asked the courts to allow her to obtain an abortion.  After lower courts ruled against them, the Supreme Court of the Buenos Aires province granted the parents’ request.  During the court hearings, several individuals offered to adopt the baby, including the rector of the Catholic University of La Plata, Ricardo de la Torre, who spoke out in defense of both the life of the baby and the mother.

The 30 feminists met on Tuesday at the Cathedral in La Plata and marched toward the university campus, where they shouted insults at the rector, distributed pamphlets and even painted graffiti on buildings used by the Department of Law.  Fences were later put up around the Cathedral and its rectory in order to keep them from painting graffiti there as well.

A large group of students staged a counter protest by praying the rosary, Emilio Nazar Kasbo, a La Plata lawyer told CNA.  

Pamphlets distributed by the women echoed the pro-abortion slogans made popular by pro-abortion forces in the US, such as, “Get your rosaries off our ovaries.”  Although the leaflets listed a number of organizations as participants in the protest, only some 30 activists participated in the march.  

“These people are intent on imposing their ideas or combating those of other people by force or through fear,” Nazar said.  “All this was on display at the campus, where in addition (to their vocal protests) they committed the crime of damaging private property by painting graffiti on the walls of the university.”