Appeal from Christian leaders in Colombia

Leaders of the Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Methodist and Evangelical communities in Colombia have signed a joint appeal in defense of life, calling for respect for religious and moral values. The Christian community in the country has been involved for some time in combating the danger that forms of legalized abortion will be introduced – a practice which under current laws is severely limited. A communiqué from the leaders – signed by the General Secretary of the Bishops’ Conference, Auxiliary Bishop of Bucaramanga, Juan Vicente Cordoba Villota, among others – reiterates, “the common purpose of favoring justice and peace in society, without any discrimination and effectively promoting the authentic rights of all Colombians, especially those most vulnerable.”

Colombian Catholic Bishops, together with other religious communities have also gathered over 5 million signatures in favor of life, intended to favor an amendment to the Constitution against, “every possibility of abortion and euthanasia,” protecting life from the moment of conception until natural death. The proposed project of constitutional reform is not the initiative of only one political party (the conservative one), but recognized as a “multi-party and multi-religious” initiative.

Religious communities, it says, “steadily work in favor of Colombian women, for their dignity and their rights. Abortion is not a right or a social conquest, but a definitive failure of public politics in favor of women and families.” The choice of abortion for women, it is explained, is often conditioned by poverty, marginalization, solitude or abandonment. “We have asked for social support for women,” the leaders say, “ in order to confront poverty and the lack of opportunity for social integration: situations which lead them to abort.” Poverty in Colombia has aspects of a real emergency about it: according to some estimates, more than 33 million Colombians live in a state of poverty or have difficulty living in a dignified manner. It is also estimated that there are some 400,000 abortions per year. In particular, the percentage of minors who have abortions is superior to adult women. In addition, clandestine abortions are among the primary causes of female mortality, because they can lead to fatal complications.