Mexico City, Mexico, May 1, 2007 / 10:44 am
The archbishop of Mexico City, Cardinal Norberto Rivera, together with his auxiliary bishops, issued a statement on Sunday expressing their "strongest condemnation" of the "unjust" and "iniquitous" law on abortion approved last week by the Legislative Assembly of the Mexican capital.
In their statement the bishops called on health care workers to exercise their right to conscientious objection against this "abominable act" that constitutes "appalling killing." They also expressed their "profound sorrow" that the assembly would pass an "unjust law that deprives unborn children of the protection of their right to life," ignoring the massive demonstrations and serious debate against the proposal. "There is no future for a society that dares to attack its most vulnerable members," the bishops warned.
"Abortion cannot be justified by pretending to deny the human status of the embryo," they continued, noting that, "the changing of legal terms, that is, of the definition of abortion, does not make it morally licit." "All persons of upright conscience should refuse to participate in this abominable act," they said.