Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Responding to Abortion
The rape and resulting pregnancy of an eleven year-old girl presents one of the more sympathetic cases for abortion rights. Nevertheless, the Catholic Church in Columbia has responded by excommunicating anyone involved in the girl's abortion, including the judges, legislators, politicians, and parents who made it possible. (HT: Open Book)
Rob
UPDATE: Hold on. The prelate denies saying that the parties involved will be excommunicated. But another interesting wrinkle emerges regarding a professional's right of conscience:
In May, Colombia's constitutional court legalized abortion in cases where fetuses were severely malformed, the pregnancy was the result of a rape or incest, or the mother's life was in danger. Initially, doctors refused to perform abortions, wary of later facing prosecution. But the court issued a ruling compelling doctors to abide by its decision if the woman's case fell within the criteria.
https://mirrorofjustice.blogs.com/mirrorofjustice/2006/08/responding_to_a.html