US Bishops Plead with Amnesty International over Abortion

Catholic bishops in the US have appealed to human rights organisation Amnesty International to turn back on its recent decision to support abortion.

In an overhaul of its policy on sexual and reproductive rights, Amnesty has called for the decriminalisation of abortion in all cases and said that women should be free to choose abortion particularly in cases of incest, rape or other instances of human rights violations.

Bishop William Skylstad, President of the US Bishops' Conference, said in a statement on Monday that Amnesty International's decision to back abortion was "deeply disappointing", reports Catholic news agency Zenit.

In the statement, Bishop Skylstad went on to urge the organisation to restore its neutral position on the issue.

He said: "The action of the executive council undermines Amnesty's longstanding moral credibility, diverts its mission, divides its own members - many of whom are Catholic or defend the rights of unborn children - and jeopardises Amnesty's support by people in many nations, cultures and religion."

Last month, Pope Benedict XVI called on Catholics and Catholic churches, organisations and schools worldwide to pull donations to Amnesty.

Amnesty denied at the time of the Pope's appeal that it was pushing for abortion as a universal right but re-affirmed its decision to support the right of women to choose, particularly in cases where the pregnant woman had been raped or become pregnant through incest.

The President of the Catholic Church's Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Cardinal Renato Martino, however, refused to accept the justification of abortion, even in exceptional circumstances, describing the procedure as "murder".

"And to justify it selectively, in the event of rape, that is to define an innocent child in the belly of its mother as an enemy, as 'something one can destroy'," said Cardinal Martino.