Demonstrations in Peru and Spain, heated debates in Italy and the U.S. New abortion laws and government plans move people in many countries. The position of the Catholic Church is clear: for an unconditional right to life. our site with an overview of the current clashes.
Peru: New abortion law causes heated dispute A new abortion law is currently causing heated debate in Peru. Women's rights activists, who want to leave it up to pregnant women to decide whether and when to abort a fetus, are engaged in fierce battles with abortion opponents. During the week, the police in Lima had to intervene rigorously to put an end to the physical confrontations. So far, abortion is only allowed in the Andean country if the life of the expectant mother is in danger. Now the ie is whether the woman should be given a "right" to terminate the pregnancy if she has been the victim of rape or if the fetus has severe deformities. An extension of the paragraph will be discussed by parliament in December. The project is controversial among the population. According to a survey by the University of Lima, 59 percent of Peruvians are in favor of abortion without penalty if the mother's life is in danger. Around 48 percent are in favor of the law if it has been preceded by rape. The country's influential Catholic Church in particular, with its strict protection of life, has been targeted by radical reform advocates. Women religious attacked with sexist slogans; church representatives are target of fierce criticism.
Spain: New law would be one of the most liberal in the We In Spain, the cabinet approved a bill at the end of September that provides for a significant relaxation of abortion law. Abortions are to be performed up to the age of 14. In Spain, abortions can be performed without penalty up to the 22nd week in the case of health risks for the woman or severe malformations of the fetus. Week – and also later abortion should be possible with the consent of a medical committee. Particularly controversial is that the bill would allow underage girls 16 and older to have abortions without their parents' knowledge or consent. The bill must now be approved by an absolute majority in parliament. If the bill is passed by parliament this winter or next spring at the latest, Spain will have one of the most liberal abortion laws in the world. The planned "Sexual and Reproductive Health Law" would even grant access to abortion free of charge and also curtail the right of doctors and nurses not to participate in an abortion on grounds of conscience. Currently, the laws of 1985 still apply; abortions in Spain are generally prohibited. The provision allows only three exceptional cases: Rape, malformation of the fetus, and a threat to the physical or mental health of the expectant mother. More than a million Spaniards recently demonstrated in Madrid against the planned liberalization of abortion law, and the bishops' conference also sharply criticized the plans.
Italy: drug agency approves abortion pill Italy's drug regulator this month approved the RU 486 abortion pill after a five-year review process. The dispensing of Mifegyne for abortions is only permitted in the context of inpatient hospital stays. The admission process was accompanied by heated debates.Critics of the abortion pill welcomed the decision to use the drug only in hospitals. This would avoid a threatening increase in abortions. Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Health, urged hospital doctors to refuse to administer RU 486 on grounds of conscience.The admission procedure had been temporarily suspended after the establishment of a parliamentary commission of inquiry into possible side effects of the pill. The panel had been set up after reports of deaths allegedly linked to RU 486. The commission will conclude its work in November. In other European countries, such as Germany, the abortion pill has already been approved for some time.
USA: Church has difficulty with Obama's reforms In the U.S., the ie of abortion has been a source of debate since President Barack Obama took office. In the dispute over its health care reform, the bishops' conference has already called on the government several times to rewrite the bill – otherwise, the bishops warn, abortions could be paid for by the state. The White House had objected, citing the so-called Hyde Amendment. This 1976 law, named after its initiator Henry J. Hyde named, stipulates that no federal funds may be used for abortions under state Medicaid health insurance system.Pope Benedict XVI. had repeatedly sharply criticized the abortion law of the USA in the past. A society that promotes values such as human rights but on the other hand radically violates them lacks a stable foundation, Benedict said, quoting from his predecessor John Paul II's encyclical "Evangelium vitae".. With regard to the liberal abortion law in the U.S., he pointed out the "inseparable connection between the ethics of life and every other aspect of social ethics".