Catholic Information Service for Africa (Nairobi)
21 August 2007
The global human rights organization, Amnesty International, has reaffirmed its support for limited abortion, drawing fresh condemnation by the Holy See.
At the conclusion of its 28th International Council meeting in Mexico on Friday, Amnesty affirmed its policy "to support the decriminalization of abortion, to ensure women have access to health care when complications arise from abortion and to defend women's access to abortion, within reasonable gestational limits, when their health or human rights are in danger."
The decision, Amnesty said, was part of its commitment to fighting violence against women.
But the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, said Monday that supporting abortion was not the solution to violence against women. "Even the life that is the result of violence should be saved," he said in an interview with Vatican Radio.
"Even though they are persons in gestation, they are persons, they are human subjects, with all the dignity of a human being," he added.
Acknowledging the urgent need to fight violence against women, especially rape, Cardinal Bertone, however, emphasized that "life cannot be eliminated as such, even though it is the result of violence."
In June, the Holy See urged Catholics worldwide to withdraw their support from Amnesty International, on grounds that the organization no longer defended the right to life.
"By pushing for the decriminalization of abortion as part of their platform, Amnesty International has disqualified itself as a defender of human rights," said Cardinal Renato Martino, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. "If AI is no longer willing to stand up for the most basic human right - the right to life - then the very integrity of the organization is called into question."
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