Wednesday 27 February 2008

abortion is never therapy

It’s good to read the report about scholars from the Catholic University of St. Paul, in Arequipa, Peru, pointing out that abortion is never a therapy, even in pregnancies when the life of the mother is endangered. The scholars’ statement is made in response to an aggressive pro-abortion protocol published by the regional government which lists 24 reasons for which a “therapeutic abortion” may be justified.

The scholars have medical science on their side. In 1992, a group of Ireland's top gynaecologists wrote: "We affirm that there are no medical circumstances justifying direct abortion, that is, no circumstances in which the life of a mother may only be saved by directly terminating the life of her unborn child." (John Bonner, Eamon O'Dwyer, David Jenkins, Kieran O'Driscoll, Julia Vaughan, 'Statement by Obstetricians', The Irish Times, 1 April 1992)

The Peruvian scholars’ statement also usefully draws attention to the distinction between abortion – the direct killing of the unborn child – and ethical treatments in which the death of the child is foreseen but not intended.