ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay — The House of Representatives of Paraguay held one minute of silence for “the babies that will die” few hours after the Senate in neighboring Argentina legalized abortion.
Un minuto de silencio. La plenaria de la Cámara de Diputados aprobó el minuto de silencio por la aprobación de la ley del aborto por parte del Congreso de la Nación Argentina. @780AM pic.twitter.com/N1tG62xlmx
— Luis Acosta (@lacostasoy) December 30, 2020
In a statement and a video released by the Paraguayan Congress' press office, the representatives observed the minute of silence upon the request of congressman Raúl Latorre.
“I ask for a minute of silence for the thousands of lives of Argentinian brothers and sisters who are going to be lost, even before they are born, based on the recent decision made by the Senate of the neighboring country”, Latorre said.
After the minute of silence Congressman Basilio Núñez, a physician, said that “what has happened in Argentina is a tragedy”, and reminded that Paraguay's House of Representatives has declared itself as pro-life and pro-family. The minute of silence was supported also by the three leading women in Congress, Norma Camacho, Blanca Vargas, and Esmérita Sánchez.
The abortion law was approved by the Argentinian Senate on Wednesday, December 30. The new law, in practice, will allow abortions at any time until birth and has no provisions for protecting the baby if he or she survives a late-term abortion.