Ecuadorian medics against abortion

LifeSite News yesterday reported a cracking statement by the Ecuadorian Federation of Societies of Gynecology and Obstetrics. You can read the LifeSite article and the full text in English translation. Point 4 of the declaration states:
From the moment that the ovum is fertilized, a new life is begun that is not part of the father, nor of the mother, but rather a new human being that develops autonomously. Further, something so important is at stake that, from the point of view of moral obligation, the mere probability of the existence of a person is sufficient to justify the absolute prohibition of any intervention made for the purpose of eliminating a human embryo. Human beings must be respected and treated as a person from the instant of their conception and, for that reason, from that same moment the rights of the person must be respected, principally the inviolable right to life of every innocent human being. Human life must be respected from its conception, without exceptions.
They effectively deal with the argument that is often summarised in the slogan "keep your rosaries off our ovaries": first the "your rosaries" bit -
Science teaches that human life begins at conception. If it is also true that it is affirmed by religion, it does not for that reason cease to be a strictly scientific truth, to be transformed into a religious opinion. He who denies that human life begins with conception does not need to contend with religion, but science. To deny this certainty of biology is not to express a lack of faith, but a lack of basic knowledge of human genetics, something that is even known by the general public.
and then the "our ovaries" bit:
To affirm that the woman can do with her body whatever she wishes, besides being a conceited claim, has absolutely no basis in science: the embryo is not part of the body of the mother, nor is the fetus an internal organ of her body: the DNA of the embryo is distinct from that of its parents.
The statement also considers the rare cases of pregnancy resulting from rape:
Regarding abortion in cases of rape, the rapist should be punished, not the innocent child, fruit of the criminal act. If the woman who is raped obtains an abortion, in the first place, she causes irreparable damage to herself, because she is deprived of the best "psychological treatment" available to her, which is to live out her maternal instinct, caring for her child with love. It may be said that the psychological well-being of a woman who has been raped is being carried in her own womb. In the second place, if she has an abortion, not only will she not be freed from the trauma caused by the rape (it is one thing to eliminate the fruit of the rape and another to eliminate the trauma of the rape) but instead a new and more devastating trauma is created, that of having killed her own child. Adoption by a third party is a humanitarian strategy of unquestionable value.
The whole statement is well worth reading as an excellent summary and an outstanding and courageous example for pro-lifers everywhere.

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