Paraguay Will Keep Abortion Ban in Place Protecting Unborn Babies During Zika Crisis

Despite heavy pressure from abortion activists to legalize abortion, Paraguay will continue to protect unborn babies’ right to life, the country’s health minister said Tuesday.

Abortion activists have been exploiting the Zika virus outbreak in Paraguay and other South American countries and pushing their deadly agenda because of an unconfirmed link between the virus and birth defects.

Paraguay Public Health Minister Antonio Barrios responded Tuesday that there is no proof that the Zika virus is causing birth defects, and the country will not legalize abortion, according to Shanghai Daily.

“For sure, there is no scientific evidence that this is the case,” Barrios said. “It is thought the virus’s significant effect occurs in the first trimester of pregnancy.”

The report continues:

Abortions are illegal in Paraguay except for pregnant women whose life is in danger. Women found guilty of having an abortion are subject to five years in jail. Doctors that perform the operation may lose their medical license and also face a prison term.

Paraguay has registered six Zika cases in Pedro Juan Caballero, the capital of Amambay department. Barrios warned pregnant women against travelling to Zika-hit areas, such as Amambay.

He advised those who have to travel to take precautions to avoid coming in contact with the virus and Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that carry Zika.

On Jan. 11, Paraguay’s health authorities issued an epidemiological state of alert due to an increase in cases of dengue fever, Zika and chikungunya, three diseases spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in the South American country.

Paraguay’s life-affirming decision came even as the United Nations, scholars and prominent U.S. media groups joined abortion activists in pushing the country to legalize abortion.

Many believe the Zika virus is linked to an increasing number of babies in South American who are born with microcephaly, a neurological disorder where a baby’s head is significantly smaller and the brain is abnormally developed, according to the Mayo Clinic. The condition is not typically fatal, but it can cause health problems throughout the child’s life.

Abortion activists want pregnant women who contract Zika to be allowed to abort their babies because they may be born with microcephaly. One group, Women on Waves, even is offering to send dangerous chemical abortion drugs in the mail to women who think they may be infected with the virus.

However, there is growing uncertainty about whether the virus and the microcephaly cases actually are connected. Thomas D. Williams recently wrote at Breitbart, “Though the Brazil Ministry of Health has registered an unusually high number of babies born with microcephaly, 96% of these cases occurred without the mothers having been infected with the Zika virus at all, which means that the cause must be sought elsewhere.”

Abortion activists’ goals in South America are extremely disturbing. Microcephaly is difficult to detect until later in pregnancy, which means either that abortion activists want to legalize late-term abortions or they want numerous early-term unborn babies to be aborted without actually knowing if they have the disorder.

The situation also points to the fact that these abortion activists believe people with disabilities like microcephaly should be targeted for abortion – an idea that concerns many disability rights advocates, even some who support abortion.

The World Health Organization has declared the Zika virus outbreak an international health emergency. No vaccine or cure has been developed yet.