|
Yes, Abortion is Murder but why
stop funding
Amnesty International?
 His Worship Cardinal Renato Martino
Greetings in the Name of the Pure and
Victory always be that of the Almighty God.
As a justice and peace-loving person I
was disturbed to read the news story that the on behalf of the
Vatican, you have asked Catholics to keep away from Amnesty
International and stop funding the human rights body, “because of
its new policy advocating abortion rights for women if they had been
raped, were a victim of incest or faced health risks.”
“Amnesty
International’s says that “it is not for abortion as a right but for
women’s human rights to be free of fear, threat and coercion as they
manage all consequences of rape and other grave human rights
violations.”
As a practicing Sikh and as a former
member of Amnesty International, I was particularly unimpressed by
the fact that the Vatican gave a call to Catholics to stop funding
Amnesty International. I accept that abortion is murder. I also
accept that the right to abort conflicts with the law of nature.
Your Worship, as a Sikh I very strongly
believe that an individual and more so a group like Amnesty
International, an organization whose reputation is beyond doubt, has
the right to disagree. I have been taught by ninth master, Guru Tegh
Bahadur that “I do not agree with what you say, but I shall lay down
my life for you to have your say.”
Today we are living in an unequal
world. Unequal circumstances force women to rape and incest on a
much larger scale than ever before. In Myanmar and many other parts
of the world, rape is used as a weapon of war.
 Amnesty believes and rightly so that in
extreme circumstances a woman has the right to abort. I may add to
this the risk of death due to medical reasons, as according to WHO,
as many as 70,000 women die every year due to unsafe abortions,.
The snuffing of a would-be life is the moral issue at hand, but till
we have a more equal world and till poverty is not seen as a crime
perpetuated by governments spending more money on defence and
lopsided development purposes, the world religious authorities will
have to accept the stand taken by Amnesty International.
Nature has blessed women with the task
of motherhood, notwithstanding the threat of human cloning looming
large on the horizon. With such a blessing, women and young girls
should also be free to exercised their reproductive rights.
When the
Vatican’s Pontificaal Council for Justice and Peace was formed, the
Second Vatican Council had proposed the
creation of a body of the universal Church whose role would be "to
stimulate the Catholic Community to foster progress in needy regions
and social justice on the international scene."
The political side of the question is
also significant. The Vatican should take into account that AI does
not accept wholesale funds from any state, including the Vatican.
Your Worship, the Vatican should
withdraw its call and work more closely with Amnesty International.
In keeping with the mandate of your Pontifical Council, the Vatican
should identify areas of work where women are victims of forced
pregnancies. Doctors, counselors and human rights activists should
be sent to these areas by the Vatican.
As a survivor of human rights violation,
who has been supported by AI, I appeal to you for generosity and
consideration. Social justice should not stop at taking a high
moral ground. Social justice should be delivered, universally.
Jagmohan Singh
Jagmohan Singh may be contacted at
jsbigideas@gmail.com
20 June, 2007
|
Read Also