Quito, Ecuador, Jun 30, 2008 / 15:02 pm
The Bishops’ Conference of Ecuador released a statement last week rejecting the approval by the Constitutional Assembly of an ambiguous clause that would open the door to abortion, and instead called on members of the Assembly to enshrine the inviolable right to life in the country’s new Constitution.
The bishops said the approval of the text, which took place on June 24, has caused “great concern and anxiety” among the people. It states, “Each person has the right to decide when and how many children they will have.”
“This right is presented as unlimited and absolute, without a conditional clause respecting the rights established in other articles, according to the formula repeatedly used in this section,” the bishops said.
“Anyone can see that the possible decision to abort at any time during pregnancy is being made into a right,” the bishops continued. “The father or the mother of the baby, with their right to decide when they want to have a child, could decide not to have it the night before the delivery.”