Dominican Republic churches, government square off on abortion

Santo Domingo.- Dominican Republic’s Catholic Church liaison with the Presidency resigned from the post on Sunday and accused senior officials of introducing unconstitutional elements to the observations on abortion to force a reform that includes the possibility of president Danilo Medina’s reelection.

The priest Manuel Ruiz, in a lengthy letter, said officials have manipulated the abortion issue by portraying the Catholic and Protestant churches as opposed to women’s rights.

In that regard, during several days, Presidency Press director Roberto Rodriguez has been tweeting and re-tweeting to others who’ve voiced support for Medina’s observations to veto the legislation, mostly on exceptions to the ban on abortion.

"We’ve fallen naively into a trap. One would think that the problem here is abortion, that’s a discussion and debate outweighed by the Constitution," Ruiz said.

"All this is some else’s fight, a battle between Danilo Medina and (former president) Leonel Fernández, trying to repeat their battle in their party’s Central Committee and the Political Committee (PLD). What’s at stake is the reelection," he said.

The prelate said there’s a falsehood from the Government to convey that the churches’ position is based on religious dogmas, “when what’s involved is the human rights of unborn children,” including those who may be born with a disability.