The Catholic bishops of Colombia warned Tuesday that a radical new ruling from the nation’s highest court “puts at risk the very foundation of our social order” by ending unborn babies’ right to life.
Catholic News Service reports the Catholic bishops joined many across the South American country in expressing “perplexity and deep pain” after the Colombian Constitutional Court decriminalized abortions for any reason up to 24 weeks in a ruling Monday.
“Protecting the supposed right to suppress an innocent human life puts at risk the very foundation of our social order and the rule of law,” the bishops said in a statement.
While recognizing the hardships that many women face, the bishops said killing a defenseless child in the womb is not the solution.
“… when the woman is the victim, it’s reasonable that civil society and the legal system seek her defense and protection,” the bishops said. “[But] one cannot hide or minimize the fact that every pregnancy implies the existence of another human being, other than the mother, in defenseless and vulnerable conditions, who in turn has the right to be part of the human family.”
Until now, Colombia has protected unborn babies’ right to life in most circumstances. It allowed abortions only in cases of rape and incest or threats to the mother’s life. Most South and Central American countries have strong pro-life Roman Catholic populations that support protecting unborn babies from abortions.
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The ruling Monday was brought about by a series of lawsuits from pro-abortion groups, including the United States-based Center for Reproductive Rights, which told the AP that its goal is “the complete decriminalization of abortion,” meaning abortions without restrictions up to birth.
But Colombian President Ivan Duque and other political leaders responded with outrage at the Roe v. Wade-like ruling, with some suggesting they may try to overturn the ruling.
“This situation cannot turn into abortion in Colombia becoming a contraceptive mechanism. We must address this discussion in the body that truly competes, which is the Congress of the Republic,” the president told reporters Tuesday.
According to AFP, “The legislature can theoretically overturn the court decision, though it will need a majority to do so, and has avoided debating the matter for years.”
Other Colombian political leaders also have been speaking out against the pro-abortion ruling.
“The decision on abortion violates the right to life of the unborn, the most defenseless. We Colombians who respect life from conception will seek through a referendum to straighten out what the Constitutional Court has done today,” Sen. María del Rosario Guerra wrote on Twitter Monday.
Rafael Nieto Loaiza, a lawyer and former vice minister of the interior and justice, slammed the ruling as a “usurpation” of Congress.
“The decision of @CConstitucional on abortion is a political position without constitutional support; usurpation of functions of Congress; demonstration of ideologization, judicial activism and government of the judges. A shame! In addition, life had to be protected, not cut off,” he wrote on Twitter.
Abortion activists and rich globalists have been targeting South and Central American countries’ pro-life laws for years, and several countries have caved into the pressure. Argentina legalized abortions in late 2020, and Ecuador passed a pro-abortion bill last week. Additionally, the Mexico Supreme Court issued a ruling last year that pro-life advocates fear will be used to legalize the killing of unborn babies nation-wide in the coming months.
Legalizing abortion does not save lives or help women. Abortions destroy unborn babies’ lives and often harm mothers physically and/or psychologically. Pro-abortion groups often overestimate the number of illegal and unsafe abortions that occur in countries across the world. Growing research also indicates that access to basic health care, not abortion, is what really improves women’s lives.
