JAKARTA, January 31, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Buddhist, Catholic, Muslim, Hindu and Protestant religious leaders issued a joint statement to condemn abortion and a government move to liberalize the abortion legislation. The declaration, signed by leaders of the five religions - which comprise all the officially recognized religions in the country - states, “We agree to firmly refuse abortion and efforts to legalize it and urge all components of society to preserve life from conception.”
The Union of Catholic Asian News reports that the statement was presented Jan. 22 at a press conference after the religious officials met at Jakarta’s Istiqlal Mosque, where they discussed and condemned efforts by the government to amend the 1992 Health Law. Indonesia’s existing Health Law allows abortion only to save a mother’s life but the revision would provide wider legal grounds for abortion.
See the UCAN report: http://www.ucanews.com/html/uca/capsule.asp?x=030129IJ3244RA.txt (with files from CathNews.com)