Vatican: No abortions for women exposed to Zika

The Vatican has said pregnant women exposed to the Zika virus and who may be carrying foetuses with serious brain defects should not be allowed have abortions.

The Catholic church made clear its position of opposing abortion in all circumstances after a Catholic group appealed to Pope Francis to allow Church members to “follow their conscience” and use contraception or to let women have abortions to protect themselves against the virus.

However, the Vatican said: “Not only is increased access to abortion and abortifacients [abortion-inducing drugs] an illegitimate response to this crisis, but since it terminates the life of a child it is fundamentally not preventative.”