San José, Costa Rica, May 7, 2013 / 11:07 am
A pro-life association in Costa Rica has launched a campaign to raise awareness about the plight of babies with anencephaly, who are often used to justify calls for the legalization of abortion in Latin America.
Babies born with the condition are missing all or part of their brain and usually die within a few hours, although some babies live longer. One baby with the condition born in Brazil lived for 16 months.
In a statement sent to CNA, the pro-life group Por la Vida underscored the importance of defending the right to life of babies with anencephaly, one year after Brazil legalized abortion for babies with the condition. A baby with the same condition is currently making headlines in El Salvador, as a similar debate rages in the country.
The awareness campaign in Costa Rica includes testimonies from families who have had babies with anencephaly.
"Antonella, Gabriel, Liam, Isabella are only a few of the names of these babies who lived for a short time outside their mothers' wombs but who live on in the hearts of the parents," the campaign explained.
It added that these parents "wish to tell their stories to show that preserving the life of their child was worth it and that the best decision a mother in this situation can make is to allow her child to live and to die in the arms of his or her loved ones."
The testimonies posted on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, "have moved the hearts of those who have followed this campaign, which has already received more than 10,000 visits on its first day," the association said.
One woman explained that she did not see her baby as deformed. Rather, she explained, "(t)o me he is and always will be my baby, the fruit of my womb, my gift from God, my first and only love."
Por la Vida noted that in Costa Rica, abortion proponents have used the case of a woman called "Aurora" to argue for the legalization of abortion, alleging that her unborn child "suffered from deformations incompatible with life."
"Aurora's" case is currently being studied by the Constitutional Court of Costa Rica.
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