The recent health crisis in Latin America has led researchers to conclude that there may be a causal link between the mosquito-borne Zika virus and a rare neurological birth defect called microcephaly. The Mayo Clinic describes microcephaly as a condition in which the child is born with a significantly smaller head, often accompanied by abnormal brain development. The effects of microcephaly vary, from severe developmental disabilities to much less severe cases. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the situation to be a global emergency and has expressed concern for infected pregnant women or those who could become pregnant in the coming days.
Compounding this potential epidemic, many have used the crisis to criticize the Catholic Church’s teachings on contraception and abortion. Two professors from Georgetown University have written an article insisting that the WHO recommend widespread access to contraception and abortion as a means of preventing the birth of children with microcephaly. Two Jesuit priests from Boston College have also used the crisis to question the Church’s teaching on contraception; they recently expressed skepticism as to whether bishops in the affected regions would even respond to the health concerns there. The next day the Brazilian Conference of Catholic Bishops released a statement urging a comprehensive response from healthcare workers and agencies to deal with the disease, but did not support the destruction of innocent human life as a solution to microcephaly.
In the face of such a severe crisis in the health of so many, the people in all affected regions deserve much more from persons in institutes of Catholic higher education like Georgetown and Boston College than dissenting opinions and aggressive abortion advocacy.
