Argentinean bishop slams heath minister’s “defense of homicide”

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Feb 20, 2005 / 22:00 pm

Bishop Antonio Baseotto of the Argentinean Military Diocese has sent an energetic letter to the country’s Health Minister, Gines Gonzalez Garcia, in response to his recent statements in favor of abortion.  “The spread of abortions which you are fostering through drugs that are known to be abortifacient is a defense of the crime of homicide,” the bishop wrote.

Bishop Baseotto underscored that the Argentinean bishops and Pope John Paul II have been consistent in their rejection of any method that takes the life of an unborn child, and he recalled the words of the Holy Father from last January 10:  “the human embryo is identical to the child that will be born and that has been born starting from this embryo.  Therefore, nothing that violates his integrity or dignity is ethically permissible.”

The bishop questioned the Garcia’s decision to distribute condoms free of charge among young people, arguing that it would lead them to “premature sexual life,” and he added that AIDS prevention is not guaranteed by the use of condoms.

“Why do they never say that being chaste, taking ownership of one’s self, is the most effective way to prevent AIDS”, Bishop Baseotto asked.

Lastly, the bishop wrote that abortion is “the killing of innocent persons, and the distribution of prophylactics fosters sexual license and the spread of AIDS with impunity.”