NewsWhore
09-10-2007, 04:20 PM
Physician Lilliam Fondeur has called on Congress to disregard strong demands from the Roman Catholic Church, which seeks to maintain the total ban on abortion in the DR. Dr. Fondeur says that physicians should exercise the previous flexibility to allow abortion in the case of rape, incest or fetal abnormalities. She says that removing the penalization of abortion that is contained in the Penal Code currently under revision cannot be a matter of religious debate. She says it is a matter of state as the health and welfare of mothers and newborns are at play. She says that a ban on abortion primarily affects the poor who according to statistics are more likely to be victims of rape and death from backstreet abortions than middle and upper class women who can go abroad.
"No woman wants to have an abortion, because an abortion is a failure however you look at it. This is about the state taking on the defense of health and life, but life with dignity," she explained, referring to the case of a teenager who could have been raped by her father, her uncle or her guardian. She estimated that more than 100,000 illegal abortions are carried out in the DR, which represents a failure on the part of the health and education systems and of society as a whole. She said that the figures show that the absolute penalization of abortion has not lead to a decline in the number of abortions. She says it does contribute to an increase in maternal mortality and the risk of health problems in teenagers. She said that the DR has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality and abortion in unsafe conditions is the third main cause of death.
"Definitely, health matters cannot be handled by religious beliefs, no matter what religious belief we are talking about," she explained.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#13)
"No woman wants to have an abortion, because an abortion is a failure however you look at it. This is about the state taking on the defense of health and life, but life with dignity," she explained, referring to the case of a teenager who could have been raped by her father, her uncle or her guardian. She estimated that more than 100,000 illegal abortions are carried out in the DR, which represents a failure on the part of the health and education systems and of society as a whole. She said that the figures show that the absolute penalization of abortion has not lead to a decline in the number of abortions. She says it does contribute to an increase in maternal mortality and the risk of health problems in teenagers. She said that the DR has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality and abortion in unsafe conditions is the third main cause of death.
"Definitely, health matters cannot be handled by religious beliefs, no matter what religious belief we are talking about," she explained.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#13)