Bishop says unborn child forgotten in recent debate about abortion in Argentina

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Aug 14, 2006 / 22:00 pm

In response to a recent decision by the Supreme Court of the Buenos Aires province that authorized an alleged rape victim to obtain an abortion—which was subsequently not administered as doctors said the baby was too developed for the procedure to be carried out—Archbishop Hector Aguer of La Plata expressed dismay that during the controversy the rights of mother took center stage while the life of the unborn child was forgotten.

During his weekly television program, “Keys to a Better World,” Archbishop Aguer said, “There is much talk about abortion and about the freedom of the mother, but there is little mention of that which the unborn child has.  In the debate that took place there was almost no discussion of the child, he was not taken into account,” the archbishop stated.

He noted that before the Court issued its ruling it would have been interesting to see the child as he was in the womb, as one of the justice’s who voted against allowing the abortion had requested.  “A three-dimensional ultrasound can give us a perfect idea that what is in the mother’s womb, at that stage of the pregnancy, is in fact a child.  There is a child in there who smiles, yawns, sucks his thumb and, if he is attacked, reacts by expressing his pain with a silent scream,” Archbishop Aguer pointed out.

He said he was surprised that while thousands of Argentineans were celebrating the life of this child, certain leaders are reacting to the doctors’ decision with anger and indignation, saying that because of the court rulings the right to abortion was not treated favorably.

“I don’t know if everyone realizes how an abortion at five months is carried out.  It is something frightful, it’s truly a massacre because delivery is induced or a cesarean is performed and the baby is left to die on a table.  If difficulties arise, the contents of the skull are extracted so that he can come out easier.  It is a massacre,” the archbishop exclaimed.

He also noted that the politicking during the debate was “striking,” and that it left one wondering if “we are in fact living in a state governed by the rule of law.”

The archbishop also criticized the media for failing to accurately and adequately report on the issue and for pushing for the legalization of abortion, “whether through the legislative or the judicial branch.”