Abortion liberalized” “

The Swiss have said yes to the depenalization of abortion: called to vote on the matter on 1st and 2nd June, they approved by a majority of roughly 72% a law aimed at legalizing the interruption of pregnancy during the first 12 weeks. At the same time over 80% of the electorate rejected a referendum that asked for an almost total ban on abortion. The text of the referendum – promoted by the anti-abortion lobby – would have permitted the interruption of pregnancy only in cases in which the unborn child were in “grave danger of death not otherwise preventable and due to physical causes”. By this vote Switzerland now joins those European countries that have legalized abortion. The legislation hitherto in force on the matter – harsh but largely ignored – dated back to 1942: at the present time Switzerland registers an average of 12,000 abortions each year. So, in Switzerland too, the doors have been opened to new outrages against life. “We wish to recall that abortion, in the view of the Catholic Church, represents a grave attack on God’s commandment: ‘Thou shalt not kill’.” So declare the Swiss bishops in a press release issued just a few hours after the results of the referendum were announced. In their communiqué the Swiss Episcopal Conference “profoundly deplores” the results of the referendum. “The fact that it’s now permissible to suppress with impunity nascent human life during the first 12 weeks – says the statement – opens the doors to new attacks on respect for life, both at its beginning (abortion permitted up till birth, elimination of foetuses with disabilities, etc.) and at its end (euthanasia)”. At this point, the bishops “appeal to the conscience of each and everyone. What is permitted by the law is not necessarily morally acceptable”. And the bishops add: “Each life is a gift of God: man cannot dispose of it at his own pleasure”. Support for mothers in difficulty. In the view of the Swiss episcopate, it’s not enough to prevent by law the interruption of pregnancy: a society that really wants to “reduce the number of abortions to the maximum”, must also provide itself with the “means” to permit the achievement of this result. “New approaches – says the statement – must be adopted to bring the necessary assistance to women in difficult situations and effectively to support families”. The bishops also appeal to the State. “Resolving the moral or financial problems of pregnant women – the Swiss bishops declare – by simply suppressing the origin of the ‘problem’, in other words the child in the womb, is irresponsible”. “Courageous measures” need to be adopted instead. The Swiss Episcopal Conference asks the government and Parliament “resolutely to commit themselves” to seeking “measures of support for women and for the promotion of the family: social insurance, maternity leave, child allowances, kindergartens, tax relief, etc.”. The voice of the bishops. The pro-abortion referendum was passed in spite of the repeated appeals of the Swiss bishops in favour of the unborn child and of mothers in difficulty. “The electors – commented Bishop Amedée Grab, president of the Episcopal Conference – did not listen to the appeals that recalled the ethical character of the inadmissability of the interruption of pregnancy, and that also denounced the lack of aid on the part of the State to protect the life of children. Defeat in the referendum was predictable, but we would never have dreamt that the percentage would have been so high. This is for us a new incitement to defend and promote the values of life throughout Europe”. Msgr. Denis Theurillat, auxiliary bishop of Basel, interviewed by the Apic press agency, also said he was “very surprised and disappointed by the result”. The bishop had been expecting a defeat, but the scale of the pro-abortion vote “poses questions to us”. “This result – he added – invites us to step up our appeal for the defence of human life. The Swiss bishops’ conference promises to listen to the voice of women and couples in difficulty. And it will continue to insist on the importance of supporting and protecting the family”. In its edition of 4 June, the Osservatore Romano also calls the Swiss vote “a new injury against the right to life which is a fundamental and inalienable good”. Maria Chiara Biagioni