(LifeSiteNews) — During the electoral campaign that led him to the presidency, Javier Milei was very critical of those groups that promoted the “right of women to interrupt their pregnancies.” He described them as being composed of “people brainwashed in a murderous policy … How can it be an earned right to kill a human being? I am a militant of the blue scarf [the symbol identifying the defenders of the right to life from conception – +H.A.]. My position is based on a philosophical, biological, and mathematical question … When one builds on an incorrect moral principle, the result is filthy.”
He was referring to the application of Law 27.610, sanctioned in December 2020, which guarantees the possibility of “interrupting” a pregnancy up to the 14th week. The absurdity of this position is obvious: What is “that” that grows in a woman’s womb in the first 14 weeks? By virtue of what principle does it become a human being? The materialistic view will maintain that it is the complexity of the brain; reason assures it is the existence of the spiritual soul, the principle of life. It has been known since Plato that this is the way things are.
Presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni recently intimated that President Javier Milei does not rule out a repeal of the “law of voluntary interruption of pregnancy,” saying that “although it is not an urgent issue, at some point it will be discussed; today it is not on the agenda, [because] the president, the entire cabinet, and the executive power are focused on the most urgent matters, the problems people are having with inflation, work, being able to get to work.”
In fact, the problem of the state’s complicity in the “abominable crime,” as the Second Vatican Council described abortion, can be considered very urgent. An eventual repeal of the law would also be a sign of the highest cultural value. Laws not only prohibit or permit, but also form the mentality of citizens and standardize customs.
The abortion campaign that led to the approval of the law three years ago showed the fruits of an erroneous education of young people (especially women) and the destruction of families. It will not be easy to reverse this cultural situation. Repealing the law should lead the state to an educational reform which would recover the transmission of the values of the natural order. These cultural phenomena tend to remain and even to aggravate their harmful orientation. One negative element in the fight against the spread of abortion is the episcopate’s distrust of pro-life organizations, to whom they attribute an ideological position. Such an attitude promotes confusion and bewilderment among Catholics.
READ: Argentina’s Javier Milei denounces ‘bloody abortion agenda’ at 2024 Davos summit
The president’s speech at the Davos forum lucidly and courageously stated Argentina’s differences with respect to the U.N. and associated agencies that promote abortion all over the world as a method of birth control. Imperialist supercapitalism supports this attack against the poor countries of Latin America, Africa, and Asia. It is, as Milei described it, a bloody agenda. This reality associates the problem of abortion with other means of contraception. The Church’s position is not easy to maintain due to progressive endeavors. The admirable work of St. John Paul II was supported by an ethic of common sense. President Milei will meet in Rome with the current Supreme Pontiff; it would be desirable for him to praise and support Milei’s intention to repeal the abortion law.
The issue also has a political dimension linked to the cultural one. Left-wing factions are vociferous promoters of the “abominable crime” – in contradiction with their own ideology of “representing the poor.” They do not respect the poorest of the poor, the unborn children and their mothers, victims of the international imperialism of money. The spectacle is pathetic: the left adheres to a pseudo-right used against a true national growth which should have their support. They are the unpatriotic ones.
The fight against the imposition of abortion should not be reduced to this “negative” aspect. It should include consideration of serious psychological and social problems and an effective commitment to support pregnant women, especially if they are young and destitute. Our current culture promotes early sexual initiation and thus the frequency of unwanted pregnancies. The state must intervene directly and also promote initiatives in society aimed at helping young people live the virtue of chastity – the integration of sexuality in the person and the vital unity between the corporal and spiritual dimensions of reality. This is a necessary complement to the fight against abortion. Unfortunately, the cultural institution of courtship has been replaced, and it is no longer instinctively perceived that the sexual relationship expresses its full meaning in marriage between a man and a woman, the source of the transmission of life. As is well known, the doctrine of the Church has been expounded on by Paul VI in the encyclical Humanae Vitae, in the teachings of St. John Paul II on the body and love, and in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
The accompaniment of a pregnant woman who finds herself in a situation of social disadvantage indicates an appreciation of the life that has been conceived and is a sign of true equality. This is the way to fight against abortion, reversing its possible imposition by a kind of necessity. The example of the authorities should not be lacking; I am thinking of the president’s relationship with Fátima Flórez in contradiction with his anti-abortion preaching. The eventual repeal of Law 27.610 will not result in a decrease of abortions if it does not induce cultural change. The praise I have expressed for a repeal of the aforementioned law does not extend to the political and economic orientation of the current government.
+ Héctor Aguer
Archbishop Emeritus of La Plata
Buenos Aires, Tuesday, February 6, 2024
Memorial of Sts. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs