Pope Francis has said that artificial contraception may be used to protect against the Zika virus. But the church will not do the same for AidsPope Francis has indicated that the Catholic church is prepared to condone artificial contraception to avoid pregnancy in response to the Zika virus,believed to be spread primarily by mosquitoes (though also possibly by sexual contact). Zika is suspected to be the cause of thousands of cases of microcephaly (unusually small heads) and other severe birth abnormalities and conditions, main desperate women to rush to terminate pregnancies in heavily affected areas such as South America. Many women affected by Zika have been begging for help from external aid agencies.
Returning to Rome after a visit to Mexico, and Francis alluded to an earlier exception issued by Pope Paul VI (permitting nuns in Africa at risk of wartime rape in the 1960s to expend birth control),telling reporters that abortion remained a crime and an “absolute evil”, but “avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil” and could be “the lesser evil”.
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Source: theguardian.com