Ecuador churches submit 100,000 signatures to prevent recognition of abortion
A group of Evangelical Protestant churches in Ecuador have reportedly delivered a petition with over 100,000 signatures to prevent the legalization of abortion in Ecuador's new constitution, reports Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, LifeSiteNews.com.
The goal of the group is to gather a total of two million signatures, which they expect to accomplish within the next few days.
The group is also requesting that the new constitution continue the tradition of mentioning God explicitly, as does the preamble of the current constitution, and are seeking to exclude special "rights" for homosexuals from the new document.
Pastor Francisco Loor, commenting about the controversy in the Ecuadoran publication El Universo, asked the question "What kind of country do we want?"
"The country we want should include the name of God in which we believe. That is the feeling of 95% of the population, which is more than sufficient in a democracy. That Almighty God is revealed in the Sacred Scriptures as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit," wrote Paster Loor.
"Should the country we want legalize and decriminalize abortion and convert itself into the intellectual author and silent accomplice of the slaughter of thousands of unborn children? I don't think so. The vast majority of Ecuadorans consider abortion to be a crime and should not be decriminalized."
The presentation of signatures on the petition was one of several activities undertaken by pro-life groups in Ecuador marking the "Day of the Unborn Child," which fell on March 25th, the same day as the Feast of the Annunciation.
Catholics in the country also organized pro-life events, including a March for Life under the banner of the Life and the Future of Ecuador in the diocese of Guayaquil, supported by the Archbishop.