Abortion should not even be considered in Zika issue

WE are concerned with news reports on official sanctioning for the abortion of foetuses in mothers infected by the Zika virus. We affirm that any child, born or yet to be born, has a right to life regardless of the possible complications that may arise in the future.

A World Health Organisation (WHO) panel of experts has concluded that Zika virus infection during pregnancy is a cause of congenital brain abnormalities including microcephaly (abnormal size of the head) in babies. The WHO experts also said the most likely explanation of available evidence from outbreaks of Zika virus infection and the neurological disorder Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is that the Zika virus infection is a trigger of GBS. According to a report in a local daily, “The expert panel recognises that Zika virus alone may not be sufficient to cause congenital brain abnormalities or GBS. It is not known whether these effects depend on as yet uncharacterised co-factors being present.”