Father Ronaldo Alvarez, priest of a Catholic church at San Francisco in Central Managua believes: Abortion is the murder of an unborn child. Just because you can’t see the baby, doesn’t mean it has no right. Even the President of Nicaragua, Enrique Bolanos has given a green signal by putting signature to this controversial new legislation. When Father Alvarez was asked, ‘What about if a woman is raped?’ He replied, ‘It is not the fault of the baby. It is the rapist, not the child, who should be punished.’ ‘What about if a woman’s life is in danger?’ was the second question to which he retorted: We don’t want to harm women, but there must be no intervention through choice to kill the baby. We accept there can be natural abortions but that is the biological will of the body, not the chosen will of the human mind. However, this move is not widely accepted by some of the women’s groups on the contrary, they opposed the change in the law, as it may give rise to certain complications among women itself. One such case is that of Maria Mora a native woman. She lately underwent abortion and advocated against framing of such laws. She explains that there were complications for her and her baby. She says that the pregnancy was no longer possible. The baby could not live, so the doctors offered Maria a termination in order for her to avoid any internal bleeding or infection. All is legal under the old law. However, it’s now illegal under the new one, even though, say the doctors, Maria could have died without their intervention. Elaborating further, she said that though she never thought of aborting her baby before but then her life was at risk. Moreover, she has another child at home who requires her attention. She persisted, ‘We women give life, so we have the right to make a choice about life.’ Now, it’s a common ubiquitous problem, on one side the Church is standing with its unflinching conviction that God who alone monopolizes control over them and confer individual’s life. While on the other hand is the free will of a woman to control her own body and health. Hence, the people of Nicaragua are wedged in the vicious cycle of religious conviction and living practical wisdom.
