As women throughout Latin America scramble for abortions because of fears the Zika virus may have left their babies brain damaged, Pope Francis has suggested that Catholics should use artificial contraception to protect themselves against the disease.
This week the Vatican said it would not be relaxing its ban on abortion during the Zika crisis. “Not only is increased access to abortion and abortifacients [abortion-inducing drugs] an illegitimate response to this crisis, but since it terminates the life of a child it is fundamentally not preventative,” the Vatican said.
However, in a departure from Roman Catholic teaching, which considers artificial contraception as intrinsically evil, the Pope told reporters that, unlike abortion, “avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil”.
The comments could herald a change of heart in the church, the first since Pope Benedict opened the doors to a new way of thinking in 2010. In an interview, when asked whether the Roman Catholic Church were not opposed in principle to the use of condoms, Benedict stated:
"She [the Catholic Church] of course does not regard it as a real or moral solution, but, in this or that case, there can be nonetheless, in the intention of reducing the risk of infection, a first step in a movement toward a different way, a more human way, of living sexuality."
We'll be watching with interest as this one unfolds.
