Catholic Action of Argentina has called on the country’s lawmakers not to redefine marriage in Argentina, saying it is a natural institution based on the heterosexuality of the couple and cannot be viewed as discriminatory.

“To support same-sex unions under the principle of non-discrimination is an error, as the law does not discriminate by demanding that marriage be between a man and a woman, in recognition of the natural reality upon which marriage is founded,” the organization said in a statement.

Officials must “protect marriage between a man and a woman through laws that guarantee and support its irreplaceable role and its contribution to the common good of society, respecting the principles of natural law and the public order of Argentina,” it said.

Laws are what guide society, the organization stated, and thus changes to the law and the legalization of same-sex unions would alter the very essence of marriage.

“To make both realities equal would be to ignore human nature in which man and woman seek each other out, their reciprocity and complementarity,” the group warned.