Nicaragua Rethinking Abortion
Cardinal Miguel Obando championed Wednesday for a scientific forum on therapeutic abortion, whose recent penalization in Nicaragua divided the society amid world criticism.

In declarations to El Nuevo Diario paper, Obando assured that it is necessary to hold an event among experts in favor of saving the lives of the mother and child.

His statement disagree with the position of the local Church, which strongly pushed in the last electoral campaign to eliminate therapeutic abortion from the Penal Code.

The practice of therapeutic abortion, which has been legal in Nicaragua since 1891, was unanimously eliminated by the National Assembly on Oct 26, 2006 amid the electoral drive.

Some days later, then-president Enrique Bolaños ratified the parliamentarian decision and up to six-year sentences were established for those involved in such actions.