Dominican Rep. Catholics dig in as drawn-out abortion fight looms

Santo Domingo.- Dominican Republic Catholic Bishops Conference (CDC) on Thursday reiterated its rebuke for all types of abortion and stressed it will defend the life of a fetus "even if has a malformation or comes from rape or incest."

"The Church will never cease to proclaim its belief that life is inviolable from conception to death as our Constitution clearly states," the Catholic hierarchs said in a statement.

The bishop’s position comes in the heels of president Danilo Medina’s veto of legislation that would’ve maintained the criminalization of abortion, and sets the stage for a protracted conflict between the government and the country’s most influential church.

"We strongly reject any concession to any type of abortion, as we have said throughout these days through various media and in different ways," the bishops said.