As Mumbai hits record number of abortions, bishop urges respect for life's sanctity
May 07,2014: As Bombay, in western India’s Maharashtra State, hit a record number
of abortions, the city’s Aux bishop Savio Fernandes urged respect for life. The number
of abortions in Mumbai rose by 10 per cent last year, the highest increase in the
past seven years. Figures from the city's Health Department, based on data from public
and private hospitals, show that the number of abortions performed in 2013 was 30,117.
Auxiliary bishop Savio Fernandes told AsiaNews that "there may be many reasons behind
this increase, like bias against girls; the perception that the body belongs to us;
promiscuity and affairs; poverty; an increasingly widespread culture of death and
God relegated to the edges of existence." Nevertheless, faced with this situation,
Mumbai’s Aux. bishop provided some tips for things to change. "Bring God at the centre
of our lives!" he said. "All religious leaders should work for this, starting with
their lifestyle, from their homilies to talking with members of other faiths, in order
to create harmony. "For the prelate, "Every school, and even the government, should
hold mandatory courses on the value of education and the sanctity of human life."
The prelate also explained that the government and NGOs should find effective ways
to promote development for the poor."
According Pascoal Carvalho, a Mumbai doctor who is also a member of the Pontifical
Academy for Life, "the high rate of abortions is often associated with sexual selection,
due to a cultural preference for boys." In Maharashtra, which prides itself as a progressive
state, the sex ratio fell steeply from 913 in 2001 to 883 in 2011. The dwindling sex
ratio indicates that at least 5 to 7 per cent abortions are sex selective" with girls
paying a deadly price, added Carvallo. Source: AsiaNews