News

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

ARGENTINA, February 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A young Argentinean lawyer with a family of his own has offered to adopt and raise a child scheduled for abortion in the northern province of Santiago de del Estero.

“I am moved by the necessity of being honest with ourselves about life,” said Dr. Lucian Pavo, 38, to a local newspaper.  “I want to prevent someone from being killed.  We cannot use contradictory language and say that we defend life and human rights, while simultaneously denying life and its rights to a new living person.”

“I am capable of taking care of the baby regardless of the circumstances and the physical and mental state this baby might be in after birth,” said Pavo, who is married with two children of his own.  “We must not discriminate against someone because they are born with a handicap.  We must accept them as they come. Its condition doesn’t matter to me.”

The case in question is that of an unidentified minor whose parents claim is mentally disabled, and for whom they wish to obtain an abortion at a hospital in the province.  Although all abortions are illegal in Argentina, they are not punishable in cases in which a mentally disabled woman is raped.

Although the names of the impregnated woman and her parents have not been revealed by the Argentinean media, it is believed that they are receiving support from pro-abortion organizations.  Doctors at the hospital where the abortion was requested are reviewing the case and will seek a judgment from the nation’s Ministry of Justice as to whether or not an abortion would carry criminal sanctions under Argentinean law.

Disgusted with the apparent indifference of community leaders regarding the case, Pavo, a Catholic, observed that “The child condemned to death is completely innocent, isn’t guilty of anything, and no one pleads for it.  To the contrary, those who carry out her legal representation are asking for its death, with the silence of prosecutors, of the district attorney, and of the priests.” 

Referring to a famous case in which an abortion carried out against a government detainee was ruled a homicide by the Argentinean Supreme Court of Justice, Pavo asked, “What is the difference between the child of a kidnapped person and the child of a raped minor?  Evidently we are not all human beings or we don’t all have rights. It isn’t coherent. Something is wrong, very wrong.”

“Don’t kill the child, deliver it to the authorities, because there are many Argentines who can’t have children, or give custody to me so that I can raise it, with the intervention of [the Ministry of] Justice,” said Pavo, addressing himself to the parents of the impregnated girl.  “Please, let’s save this Argentinean.”

Contact Information:

Embassy of Argentina in the USA
1600 New Hampshire Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20009-2512
Phone (202) 238-6401
Fax (202) 332-3171

Embassy of Argentina in Canada
81 Metcalfe Street, Suite 700
Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 6K7
Tel: (613) 236-2351
Fax: (613) 235-2659
Email: [email protected]

Embassy of Argentina in the United Kingdom
65 Brook Street
London W1K 4AH
Phone: +44 (0) 207-3181300
[email protected]

Argentinean Embassies in Other Countries
https://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/Argentina/Argentina1.html