Quito, Ecuador, Jun 4, 2006 / 22:00 pm
President Alfredo Palacio Gonzalez of Ecuador has issued a decree establishing March 25 as the Day of the Unborn Child.
The presidential decree, issued June 1, 2006, grants recognition to the unborn as a child, whose “right to life” must be respected and who must be considered a person under the law and protected against discrimination on the basis of being unborn.
The decree also declares that it is a “Constitutional obligation of the State to protect and guarantee the life of every human being, from the moment of conception,” noting also that it is necessary to make society aware of “the special protection that the unborn deserve because of their extreme fragility and defenselessness…that the unborn are a vulnerable group that should be given priority treatment.”
“The Ecuadorian government deems that the Day of the Unborn Child should be celebrated on March 25 each year, the internationally accepted date for the event,” the decree stated.
It also established that different government agencies take the necessary steps to incorporate the holiday in social and educational programs and “to promote and organize festivals and special celebrations in honor of the unborn.”
The presidential decree brings the civil authority of Ecuador in line with the Ecuadorian Bishops who had already established March 25 as the Day of the Unborn Child.