Politicians warned against lifting abortion ban

Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati of Santiago has warned Chilean politicians against voting in favour of lifting Chile’s total ban on abortion, writes Isabel de Bertodano.

A bill tabled in congress last weekend by President Michelle Bachelet would permit abortion in cases where there is a threat to the life of the mother or baby, or where the mother has been raped.

Cardinal Ezzati said that “no one can be made to terminate the life of a baby in gestation” and criticised the draft bill as unclear.

In an interview with the Chilean daily El Mercurio, he appealed to Catholic politicians to vote with their conscience and refused to rule out the possibility of excommunication for those who supported the bill. “We stress that if I am Catholic and I support a doctrine which goes against my faith, that is extremely serious. I’m not saying this means automatic excommunication, and not in all cases,” he said.

The rector of the Pontifical Catholic University in Santiago has said that no health organisation with links to the university will be able to practise abortion.