It’s always “yes” to life

Last Thursday, 19 October, the Portuguese Parliament approved the proposed referendum on abortion. The question that will be put to citizens, contained in the text proposed by the Socialist Party, will be: “Do you agree with the depenalization of the voluntary interruption of pregnancy, if carried out, at the woman’s choice, in the first 10 weeks, in a legally authorized health centre?”. The President of the Republic must now submit this proposed referendum to Portugal’s Constitutional Court, for a preliminary evaluation of its legitimacy and constitutionality. The Court will have 25 days at its disposal within which to issue its own opinion, after which Cavaco Silva will make a final decision on whether the referendum should go ahead. It would have to be held between 40 and 180 days after the Court’s ruling. In the meantime Cardinal JOSE’ POLICARPO, Patriarch of Lisbon, has reaffirmed in an official communiqué his recent statements on the matter, “incorrectly transmitted by the means of communication and by some political forces”, spelling out his position “with a clarity that will not permit ambiguous or misleading interpretations”. A UNIVERSAL VALUE. “I had begun by affirming that the doctrine of the Church on abortion has not changed and never will; she believes that a human being, with its own dignity and with its own right to live and be protected, exists from the moment of conception”, explained Cardinal Policarpo, reaffirming that “the condemnation of abortion is not a religious but a fundamental ethical question, because the right to life is a universal value, a requirement of the natural moral law. It is not merely the fact of being Catholic that makes us oppose abortion: respect for life is enough, and represents, in itself, a universal ethical value”. “By making this statement – explains the Patriarch – I had no wish to deny the religious dimension of the problem: it is clear that respect for life is a requirement of Christian morality, given that it is established by the 5th commandment Thou shalt not kill , and that to violate it is a grave sin”. ILLUMINATING CONSCIENCES . According to the cardinal, “all the members of the Church and all who defend life are called to participate in a debate to illuminate consciences. The laity have the task of organizing and animating a campaign in the concrete sense; the role of pastors is to support them, by fostering interior and individual reflection through their proclamation of the doctrine of the Church and preaching of the Gospel of life”. “I made no apologia for abstention – insists the cardinal – but I believe that one of the objectives to be achieved in the debate must be, at least, that of instilling doubts in many whether, without having examined the problem, they could respond favourably to the question posed in the referendum”. THE REASONS FOR VOTING NO. Following the decision of the Parliament, the permanent Council of the Portuguese Bishops’ Conference has also issued an official statement, in which it urges Catholics to vote “no”. “We bishops – says the statement – do not intend to run a campaign of political type, but we cannot abstain from making our contribution aimed at fostering awareness of the dignity of human life, from the moment of its conception”: hence the decision to explain “the reasons for voting no and choosing life”. “The human being is wholly present from the very inception of life. This is now a certainty confirmed by science”, declare the bishops. It follows that “procured abortion” is “always an ethically unjustified act of violence against the human being”. ABORTION AS CIVIL RIGHT? According to the bishops, moreover, “legalization is not a solution that can solve the problem of clandestine abortion, a “social tragedy” that needs to be combated through “balanced family planning, firm support of women who find themselves in a situation of difficult maternity”, and the dissuasion of all those involved in this illegal practice, frequently merely for financial gain”. Besides, what the referendum proposes “it not a pure depenalization”, explain the bishops, “but a legalized liberalization that creates a civil right”. “Abortion – says the statement – is not a women’s right. No one has the right to decide whether a human being can live or not, not even the mother who rears it in her womb”. Nor is it “a political problem, but one of fundamental rights. Respect for life is the principal foundation of ethics; this principle is deeply rooted in our culture. The function of the laws is to promote the practice of this respect. The approval of the law” submitted to the referendum, “would mean the degeneration of the law itself. It would be a further case in which what is legal is not moral”.