Brasilia, Brazil, Sep 18, 2008 / 21:08 pm
Brazilian gynecologist and obstetrician Elizabeth Kipman Cerqueira defended the pro-life position before the country’s Supreme Court this week arguing that while babies with anencephaly have a short life, “they are living beings” who should be allowed to be born.
The unborn child is “a living being. [He or she is] Seriously compromised when born, with a very short time to live, but it is alive,” she told the justices, who are debating the legalization of the abortion for babies with anencephaly.
According to the Defense of Life Movement, Cerqueira also mentioned post-abortion syndrome during her arguments. “It is more likely that a mother who aborts will feel regret than a mother who carries her pregnancy to term or whose baby dies a natural death,” she said. The expert also noted that women undergo risk during pregnancy but that the risk is greater during an abortion, as there could be an internal injury or an infection.
The Defense of Life Movement said the term “abortion” was used often during the arguments before the court, despite the euphemisms used by supporters of abortion. Pro-lifers referred to the death of the unborn in the mother’s womb.