El Salvador Lawmakers Sign Petition to Oppose Abortion, Other Nations to Follow
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
June 11, 2008
San Salvador, El Salvador (LifeNews.com) — Every one of the 84 lawmakers in the El Salvador Congress have signed a petition called the Book for Life, displaying their commitment to defend unborn children and people from abortion and euthanasia from conception until natural death.
"Every human being should be protected and respected from the moment of conception…until his natural death," the petition reads. "Our primary responsibility as legislators is to unconditionally defend life. We condemn abortion as an abominable crime."
Organizers of the petition started it in Honduras and they hope to expand it to every Central and South American nation that currently prohibits abortions, as most do.
“We believe that all of us must be faithful defenders of life and not leave room for anything else,” said Hugo Martinez, a leftist Honduran lawmaker, told the Catholic News Agency about the campaign.
Regina Cardenal, the head of the Salvadoran pro-life group Si a la Vida (Yes to Life), told CNA that organizers hope to encourage lawmakers to protect human life.
The campaign is needed because pro-abortion groups in the United States and elsewhere are backing local efforts from abortion advocates to pass laws to overturn or weaken the pro-life measures in each nation.
"Latin America is a big prize for those who would most financially benefit from legalized abortion in that region," Raimundo Rojas, the Hispanic outreach director for National Right to Life, told LifeNews.com.
