Stressing the right to life recognized in the Dominican Constitution, the bishops of the Dominican Republic called the country's lawmakers to oppose a measure that would legalize abortion in the country.
They asked legislators to ratify the new Penal Code as it was approved by the Dominican Congress and Senate, but to reject amendments to legalize abortion put forth by President Danilo Medina.
The new Penal Code was approved by both houses of Congress on Nov. 18, but President Medina is push lawmakers to adopt amendments that would allow for abortion.
In a statement issued Dec. 3, the bishops urged lawmakers to adopt the Penal Code “that was approved by both houses.”
They noted that the Dominican Constitution “says clearly and categorically that the right to life is inviolable from conception to natural death. The death penalty cannot be established, declared or applied in any case.”
“The legalization of abortion is to pass 'the death sentence' on somebody who is otherwise defenseless, even if the person is the result of rape for which he is not responsible or if he has some kind of deformation,” the bishops said.
While pointing to the need to care for the life of the mother, they stressed that “it would be exclusive and discriminatory if we only defended the rights of the mother and we condemned to death the child in her womb, who also deserves from the State, from her parents and from all of society 'the right to life, health and respect for human dignity and her moral and psychiatric integrity',” as is established by the country's Constitution.
The bishops also noted that the Dominican Republic has not ratified any international treaty allowing abortion and as representatives of the Dominican people, “the vast majority of whom love life and defend it from conception to natural death, the country's lawmakers should ratify the Penal Code without amendments.”
--EWTN News
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