Nigerian bishops argue against abortion for women raped by Boko Haram

May 29, 2015

The Catholic bishops of Nigeria has issued a promise to help women who have been raped in Boko Haram terrorist raids, and pleaded against abortion for the women who became pregnant.

"It is not tenable, the suggestion that killing the babies conceived through rape by the terrorists is the most humane action to take in this instance,” Bishop Anselm Umoren, who heads the Nigerian bishops’ health committee, told the Fides news service. He said that the Catholic Church “in cooperation with all people of good will,” stands ready to help the pregnant women.

After Nigerian troops freed several hundred women who had been held captive by Boko Haram, it was disclosed that the terrorists had raped many of them, and several were pregnant. The Catholic bishops, reminding the public that the babies conceived in rape are themselves innocent, argued against following up the mass rape with mass abortion.

 

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Further information:

• The Bishops: "No to mass abortion for girls raped by Boko Haram; we are ready to help" (Fides)