Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jun 22, 2007 / 09:34 am
The Committee on Marriage and the Family of the Bishops’ Conference of Argentina issued a statement this week recalling that the country’s Supreme Court has already ruled that the unborn child is a “person” under the law and that therefore a measure being considered by the Argentinean Congress to legalize abortion is unconstitutional.
The Committee pointed to a Supreme Court ruling in 1976 that ordered economic compensation be granted to Elvira Berta Sanchez for the killing of her daughter and her unborn child by soldiers in the military.
At the time, Sanchez’s daughter, Ana Maria del Carmen Perez, was just days away from giving birth when she was shot in the abdomen and her unborn child was killed.
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Sanchez’s petition, saying the unborn are persons under the law entitled to rights and obligations and that in the case of Carmen Perez, the unborn child should be considered a victim of the crime as well under Argentinean law.