Nicaraguan President
Defends Abortion Policy
before European
Delegation
By Matthew Hoffman,
lifesite.net
Nicaraguan President
Daniel Ortega is
continuing to defend his
country's decision to
criminalize all
abortions, while
clarifying that
life-saving procedures
are exempt from
punishment in the
Central American nation.
In a speech delivered on
January 17th to a group
of parliamentarians
visiting from Nordic
countries, Ortega
returned to the theme of
his country's
anti-abortion penal
code, which has been a
controversial topic with
Europeans since it was
enacted in 2006.
Noting that the public
is strongly opposed to
abortion, Ortega stated
that in the late 1970s,
when he was a communist,
his party did research
into public opinion
regarding the issue, in
an attempt to determine
if a more permissive law
could be passed.
"When we were in the
middle of the Revolution
of 1979, with the youth
and women incorporated,
there were comrades that
proposed that we approve
abortion, one step
beyond therapeutic
abortion. We did
profound surveys, among
the people and the
youth, and 99% indicated
that they were against
abortion," said Ortega.
"When they were asked if
they had had abortions,
some young women had had
experiences with
abortion, some women, in
the interviews they said
that yes, that they had
had abortions, but they
added that they weren't
in favor of abortion,
because they didn't feel
good about having done
it," Ortega told the
delegates.
Later, when the issue
re-emerged in 2006, the
Sandinistas did another
survey. "And when the
topic begins to be
debated again, all of
the profound inquiries
we did, we were not in
the government, but we
did our surveys, 80% of
the population was
against abortion! If we
hold a referendum here
on the topic, I'm sure
that we would have a
massive vote against
therapeutic abortion."
Ortega made his points
in light of the fact
that many Nordic
countries are putting
pressure on Nicaragua to
legalize "therapeutic
abortion" - a category
so broad it can be used
to justify the procedure
in almost any situation.
Sweden recently
eliminated Nicaragua
from its foreign aid
program after repeatedly
pressuring the country
to change its penal code
The head of the
delegation, which
included
parliamentarians from
Denmark, Finland,
Iceland, and Norway,
noted in her opening
remarks to Ortega that,
"As you know, the topic
of therapeutic abortion
has caused some concern
among Nordic
countries..."
Responding, Ortega
recognized the pressure
exerted by Nordic
countries, particularly
Sweden. "I want to refer
very specifically to the
topic of therapeutic
abortion," he said. "I
know that it has
provoked a reaction in
European countries, in
the Nordic countries and
above all I would say,
in the Swedish
government. We even are
given to understand that
the withdrawal of the
Swedish government has
to do with this and
other political
factors..."
"I have to respect the
criteria of the Swedish
government," said
Ortega, "but I'm sure
that if Olof Palme were
alive, he would not
agree with this
decision. It's
ultimately a political
decision."
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