- Statement from the Bishops in defense of life: "No honest law can justify the elimination of a defenseless being that has the right to live and to be born."
Florida (Agenzia Fides) – As the Uruguayan House of Representatives prepares to vote on a draft bill regarding reproductive health, which includes a clause on abortion, the Bishops of the country who were recently celebrating their Plenary Assembly, issued a statement on November 7, 2008 in defense of life. In the statement, the Bishops also call to mind the declaration they made on November 12, 2007, "Defending human life, we all win," in which they affirmed that "legalizing abortion does not change something evil into something good. In the end, it is a terrible situation for all involved. A human life is lost. A mother is left with wounds that are not easily healed. A doctor goes against the nobility of his profession. Society loses the chance to embrace a new life. A culture of life remains wounded"
"The value of human life is a good for each and every person in society," the statement says. "This is above all other interests." Thus, "no honest law can justify the elimination of a defenseless being that has the right to live and to be born."
The Bishops recognize all that has been done in supporting this "basic value, in various areas of society," while they also regret certain postures that "manipulate and darken the fundamental truth of the right to life, placing it above other interests and situations, without taking into account science of ethics."
"As Uruguayans, we should multiply the signs of protecting human life in the midst of immigration and a 'demographic winter' that has everything to do with the future. The well-being of our people requires sons and daughters that bring cheer to our homes and fill our classrooms. We wish to promote the integral development of human life, which as Catholic Bishops, we see with the perspective of Jesus Christ, who has come into the world to bring fullness of life," the statement concluded.
(RG) (Agenzia Fides 10/11/2008)
