Quito, Ecuador, Jan 8, 2019 / 16:29 pm
The Ecuadorian legislature began debate on decriminalizing abortion last week, amid opposition from the Church and various civil organizations.
The decriminalization of abortion is part of the reform of the Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code. The proposal would liberalize this procedure in cases of rape, non-viable fetal deformity, rape, and incest.
The Ecuadorian bishops' conference stated in a Jan. 3 communiqué that "human life is above any political and religious banner or positions erroneously called conservative or progressive."
"We invite all men and women of good will, families and, in a special way, the members of the assembly, to exposit with clarity and courage their scientific, ethical and legal arguments, free of any fundamentalist position, whether it be of a social, political or religious character," the bishops encouraged.