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Catholic World News News Feature

Amnesty rejects Vatican criticism on abortion policy August 23, 2007

Brushing aside criticism from the Holy See, Amnesty International has affirmed its new policy of support for legal abortion.

Responding to public criticism by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State, Amnesty International issued a statement saying that the group "notes the right of the Vatican to hold its views on abortion," but indicated that it would not change its policy. "The matter of whether individuals, of any faith, agree with or oppose Amnesty International's policy on sexual and reproductive rights, which includes selected aspects on abortion, is for the individual to decide and should be respected," the group said.

"Amnesty International finds it unacceptable for women to be imprisoned for seeking or obtaining an abortion, or for women to be denied access to abortion services," the organization announced.

The group's statement claimed that Amnesty International "does not promote abortion as a universal right and the organization remains silent on the rights or wrongs of abortion." However, the group confirmed the policy, "adopted in April this year, that aims to support the decriminalisation of abortion, to ensure women have access to health care when complications arise from abortion and to defend women's access to abortion-- within reasonable gestational limits-- when their health or life are in danger."

The statement from Amnesty International leadership came after Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone chastised the group for supporting legalized abortion. Cardinal Bertone noted that Amnesty International had explained the policy shift by referring to the widespread use of rape as a means of intimidation, particularly in the Darfur conflict. While condemning violence against women, the Vatican Secretary of State said that abortion compounds the problem by introducing violence against the innocent unborn child. "Violence cannot be answered by further violence, murder by murder, for because the unborn child is also a human person," he told Vatican Radio.

Amnesty International abandoned its previous policy of neutrality on the issue of rape after a long internal discussion. The shift drew an immediate protest from Cardinal Renato Martino, the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, who suggested that Catholics might reconsider their support for the organization.

More recently Bishop Michael Evans of East Anglia, England, announced that he was dropping a 31-year association with Amnesty International. Bishop Evans-- who composed a prayer used by Amnesty International in a recent postcard campaign-- said that he could not accept the support for abortion. "There is no human right to acces to abortion," he said, "and Amnesty should not involve itself even in such extreme cases.”

Cardinal Bertone drew still more attention to the Church's criticism when he decried the Amnesty International policy during a speech to thousands of Catholics assembled in Rimini, Italy, for the annual conference organized by the Communion and Liberation movement.