By a 59-27 margin the Chilean House of Representatives has passed a law establishing March 25 as a national “Day of the Unborn Child and of Adoption.”
“To protect the life of the unborn is to recognize the right to life of every human being, even against the will of their own parents,” the law reads. “In this way, no one can dispose of the life of another.”
The measure was sponsored by Senator Jaime Orpis of the country's Independent Democratic Union party, who explained the the goal is to protect human life from the moment of conception. He said that protecting the life of the unborn should be a priority in all societies, as “we are beholding a being that is entirely defenseless.”
Representative Jorge Sabag of the Christian Democratic Party, one of the measure's proponents, said that the law “is nothing more than the consequence of article 19 of the Constitution of the Republic, which guarantees the right to life for all persons and that the law shall protect the life of the unborn.”
March 25 is significant in that it is the day of observance in the Catholic Church of the Feast of Annunciation, which celebrates the day that the angel Gabriel announced to the Virgin Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus Christ.
Chile prohibits abortion under all circumstances, and polls consistently demonstrate that a majority of Chileans are strongly pro-life.
Apparently, however, there was some opposition to the measure, which pro-life leaders in the nation had been pushing for the past dozen years. The National Catholic Register noted that while the proposal was initially approved in May, the congressional Human Rights Committee introduced an amendment to change the name of the day to a “Day for Pregnant Women and Adoption.” That change, however, was denied by the president of the House of Representatives.
Chile now joins El Salvador, Argentina, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic in the observance of a day recognizing the rights to life of the unborn.
Photo of flag of Chile