Reuters AlertNet Lite - Brazil's Lula says abortion issue cannot be ignored

Reuters AlertNet Full site

NEWSDESK

Brazil's Lula says abortion issue cannot be ignored

08 May 2007 20:18:31 GMT
Source: Reuters

BRASILIA, May 8 (Reuters) - President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on the eve of a visit by Pope Benedict to Brazil that abortion was a public health issue that could not be ignored.

Lula was personally opposed to abortion but because of Brazil's social conditions, some pregnant women needed help, he told Roman Catholic radio stations.

"The state needs to treat this as question of public health," he said in comments made public by the government on Tuesday.

Pope Benedict has strongly denounced abortion and birth control as immoral and he is expected to reinforce that message during his five-day visit starting on Wednesday.

Abortion is illegal in Brazil but health officials estimate at least two hundred thousand clandestine abortions are performed each year.

The issue has been at the center of public debate since Brazil's new health minister called for a plebiscite on abortion earlier this year.

"If we had a good process of family planning and sex education, possibly we would not have the number of unwanted pregnancies that we have today," Lula said.

Brazil has the world's largest Catholic population but Protestant groups have been making inroads for decades.

The former union leader said in the radio interview that he knew girls who had used knitting needles in a desperate attempt to end an unwanted pregnancy.

"The state cannot ignore something that is a reality ... and not help these people," he said.

A majority of Brazilians are against changing current legislation, which permits abortion only if a pregnancy threatens a woman's life or results from rape.

Church leaders have condemned a government policy of handing out free condoms to prevent unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS.

Lula defended the program at a public event in March, saying: "Sex is something almost everybody likes."

AlertNet news is provided by

Email this article Send comments

Countries

Small country map
© 2004 Europa Technologies Ltd.

Reset map

• Brazil profile
· View map

MORE >>

• The UMCOR Hotline for May 08, 2007
UMCOR - USA

• In Somalia, MSF is extremely concerned as tens of thousands of displaced, fleeing violence in Mogadishu, face critical humanitarian needs
MSF International

• Poverty pay and dangerous conditions: the secrets of supermarket success
ActionAid - UK

• ADRA Empowers Internally Displaced Women in Colombia
ADRA - International

• Caritas says peace must be priority as Sri Lankan President meets Pope
Caritas Internationalis

MORE >>

Latest news

• Brazil's Lula says abortion issue cannot be ignored

• Brazil Indians claim farms as ancestral lands

• Nepal: Maoists Should Release Child Soldiers Now

• Forgotten Indians are other side of Brazil farm boom

• Breaking up is hard, so Kyoto shrine offers help

MORE >>

Last updated:Tue May 8 20:21:01 2007

Topics

Countries

NGO latest

Latest news