1

Laura F. Belli, PhD

University of Buenos Aires
Andrzej Girdwoyń
University of Warsaw

“The influence of Catholicism in political and legislative decisions regarding reproductive

technologies: similarities between Argentina and Poland”

On March 1987, responding to recent developments achieved in the reproductive technologies

field, the Vatican published a document called “Instruction on Respect for Human Life in Its
Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation”. This document states that the Church opposes all
technological interventions into the process of human reproduction (including artificial
insemination, embryo transfer, in vitro fertilization and surrogate motherhood) and also
condemned embryo experimentation (when they are not of direct therapeutic benefit to the fetus),
selection and disposal. The moral argument behind this position is that these techniques are not
“natural” because they dissociate the sexual act from the procreative act.

The primary intention of this “Instruction” was to influence and shape decisions of
particular Roman Catholics, but the Church was not simply asserting its voice of dissent: this
document was also thought as an instrument to influence legislation worldwide. It is the case
that, in Argentina and Poland, the Roman Catholic Church has long influenced public policies. In
the past decades, in order to try to maintain its status as a moral authority, the focus was set on
issues related to sexuality and fertility.

Interactions between the state and religious institutions in Argentina and Poland take
different shapes. They are reflected at national, provincial and municipal levels and especially in
terms of legal regulations and public policies. Reproductive technologies, particularly, can be
seen as a privileged entry to understand the complex links between religion and politics in these

Belli L. F., Girdwoyń A. - The influence of Catholicism in political and legislative decisions regarding reproductive
technologies: similarities between Argentina and Poland
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two countries. Attitudes to assisted reproduction are very much influenced by specific cultural
and social contexts.

The aim this work is to present an overview on the way in which political and legislative
decisions regarding reproductive rights and technologies, both in Argentina and Poland, were
shaped and constrained by the historical relations of power between the Church and the State.

Politics and religion Argentina and Poland

Technologies of assisted reproduction have been controversial since their inception, but
Catholicism remains the only major religion that still condemns their use. To main argument
against these practices are: (a) assisted reproduction interferes with a process that should remain
under God’s dominion

The human person must be accepted in his parents’ act of union and love; the generation of a
child must therefore be the fruit of that mutual self-giving which is realized in the conjugal
act wherein the spouses cooperate as servants and not as masters in the work of the Creator
who is Love. [1];

and (b) research, development and practice of many of these techniques involve the
destruction of embryos, i.e., the ‘‘destruction of human life,’’ and should not be allowed.

The Second Vatican Council is crucial to understand contemporary role and influence of
the Catholic Church in countries like Argentina and Poland. Even though during the Council the
independence between the Church and the State was recognized, at the same time the Church
also reaffirmed its role as a public actor. Passing moral judgment in matters regarding public
order “when the fundamental rights of a person or the salvation of souls require it” [2] was stated
as one of the central issues. This statement considers the Church not only a religious institution,
but also a public actor responsible to influence and change political decisions. The regulation of

Belli L. F., Girdwoyń A. - The influence of Catholicism in political and legislative decisions regarding reproductive
technologies: similarities between Argentina and Poland
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reproductive rights has become a decisive political field for the Catholic Church to influence
legislations.

Before we get into the specifics, the first thing to be noted is that both of our countries are
secular as it is stated in both Constitutions. Even though we recognize the complexity of this
concept, we will understand secularism as the state neutrality in religious matters, in other words,
as the formal separation between state and the Church [3].

Argentina

Argentina is a secular country (as stated in the Constitution) but supports the Roman Catholic
Church (article 2 of the Constitution proclaims that “The federal government supports the
Roman catholic apostolic creed”). This gives them a preferential legal status that puts them
above other religious institutions and civil organizations, it also gives it direct government
funding. The Argentine legal system, then, even though is supposed to be secular, includes a
Constitution which has a theist conception (God is invoked in the Preamble) and recognizes a
preference towards one Church (Catholic Church) while, at the same time, it assures the freedom
of beliefs for all [4].
Taking in account this particularities, the political influence of the church hierarchy in
Argentina has been an object of study since the1930s [5]. Since then, the church has intensified
the ties between the Vatican and most of the political actors in the following years until today.
As a result of that, catholic values were set at the core of Argentine identity. According to the
latest survey [6], around 80 percent (80%) of the population recognizes themselves as Catholics,
10 percent (10%) are a part of Evangelical, Protestant and Pentecostal churches, 3 percent (3%)
belongs to other religions (especially Jewish community, but also Muslims, Buddhists, Mormons
and members of other religious groups). Finally, seven percent (7%) states to be atheist or
agnostic.
Abortion in Argentina is only legal when the life or the health of the woman is in danger
and in the case of rape of a mentally ill woman. And even if the conditions are fulfilled, women
who seek an abortion must navigate through many obstacles including the powerful apparatus of
the Catholic Church, social pressure and a great number of morally opposed physicians. The
Belli L. F., Girdwoyń A. - The influence of Catholicism in political and legislative decisions regarding reproductive
technologies: similarities between Argentina and Poland
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laws are in place but they have been systematically flouted by hospitals and doctors who refuse
(because they ignore the law or for personal decision) to provide access. Because of these
restrictions, an estimated 500,000 clandestine and unsafe abortions take place every year,
resulting in a great number of women that are hospitalized because of health complications and
many deaths (more than 100 per year, but there are no official figures and it is thought to be even
higher). This is due to the lack of political will of the government and the resistance and
opposition of social forces, mainly the religious sectors.
Since 2003 in Argentina a group of progressive laws were approved. The Law on Sexual
Health and Responsible Parenthood (Law 25.673) was enacted, enabling the distribution of
contraceptives and information for making decisions regarding planned parenthood, followed in
2006 by the National Sex Education Law (26.150) that defined education curriculum guidelines
based on scientific basis on issues of sexuality. In 2010 same sex marriage was legislated (law
26.618) providing homosexuals couples with the exact same rights as heterosexual couples. Two
years after that, a bill on gender identity was approved (Law 26.743). In 2013, argentine
lawmakers voted to approve legislation requiring all health care plans to offer a range of artificial
fertility treatments to anyone at least 18 years of age (Law 26.862 - Medically Assisted
Reproduction).
This increased legitimacy that sexual and reproductive rights recently acquired (that can
be seen as a diminution in the power of the Catholic hierarchy in controlling legal regulation of
sexuality), generated a much more active and visible participation of the Catholic hierarchy in
the politics of sexuality.
A comprehensive study that took place in Argentina in 2011 [7] that examined the
relationship between parliamentary members and the Catholic Church, showed this secular ideal
was not being fulfilled: three out of four lawmakers reported that the views of the Catholic
Church affects (at least partially) the decision of the Congress with regard to the processing of
bills on sexual and reproductive rights: some legislators include arguments and declarations of
the Church to justify their position; others identify themselves as Catholics, recognize the
influence over their decisions, but at the moment of justifying their votes, they use exclusively
secular arguments. Whichever the case may be, from the perspective of the Catholic Church,
control over sexuality and fertility should be exercised and is crucial to the continuing success as
a moral authority.
Belli L. F., Girdwoyń A. - The influence of Catholicism in political and legislative decisions regarding reproductive
technologies: similarities between Argentina and Poland
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The infusion of faith-based social values into the political vision, reflected in particular in
Argentina’s Civil Code reform in 2015. The Article 19 (Chapter 1 - Title I - Book I), on
Beginning of existence, says: “The existence of the human being begins at conception”. Defined
this way, life begins at conception, inside or outside the womb. The impact of this central article
on reproductive technologies is at plain sight: according to this definition the right to life is
affected because many reproductive techniques involve the loss of human embryos [8].
This definition was adopted after a long discussion in which catholic lobbyists manage to
influence the legislators to conceptually unify the beginning of the existence of the person at the
moment of conception without distinction to the place or manner of conception. Important
members of the Catholic hierarchy mobilized to prevent the legal reform: they held frequent
meetings with legislators to present the institutional opinion of the Church and to lobby them to
reject the original form of the article [9].

Poland

De iure, the Polish Constitution from 1997 guarantees the principle of secular state in the
Preamble and in article 25.2, which states: Public authorities in the Republic of Poland shall be
impartial in matters of personal conviction, whether religious or philosophical, or in relation to
outlooks on life, and shall ensure their freedom of expression within public life [10]. Some
influential representatives of the doctrine, however, differentiate the term “impartial” from the
term “neutral”, declaring that it is impossible to separate the Constitution and the axiology it is
based on [11]. From that point of view, issues such as a full legalization of abortion or providing
homosexual couples the same rights as heterosexual couples cannot be considered without a
reference to Christian values[12].

The issue of abortion can be considered as one of the biggest controversies in polish
political and social history since the fall of communism in 1989 [13]. Currently, according to law
from 1993, abortion is permitted in a number of exceptional cases: 1) when the woman’s life or
health is seriously threatened; 2) when the fetes is irreparably damaged; and 3) when the
pregnancy appeared as a result of rape or incest [14]. Those conditions are an object of a constant
Belli L. F., Girdwoyń A. - The influence of Catholicism in political and legislative decisions regarding reproductive
technologies: similarities between Argentina and Poland
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criticism from the Catholic Church and pro-life organizations. In the past 22 years, numerous
projects of bills providing a total ban of abortion were voted by the Parliament, the last one of
them in September 2015 [15].

In the recent years the issues of the legal conditions and refund of in vitro fertilization
were an object of an intensive debate in polish Parliament and media. In July 2015 a bill on
infertility treatment has been passed by the Parliament. In December 2015, after the elections,
the new polish government decided to end the national IVF-refund programme [16].
De lege lata polish law, unlike Argentinian, does not provide a full legal protection of human life
from conception until birth. According to the Constitution, the state guarantees each person a
protection of life [17]. A nasciturus however is not considered as a “natural person”, according
to the Civil Code from 1964 [18].

In March 2014 a group of catholic doctors and medicine students published a document
called A Declaration of Faith of Polish Doctors and Medicine Students Concerning Human Sex
and Reproduction [19]. The document consists of 6 articles. In the first one the signatories
declare that they believe that God created men and women, in the second – that the moment of
conception and death of a human being depends only on God’s will and as a result acts like
abortion, contraception, in vitro fertilization and euthanasia are not only violations of the
Decalogue, but also a rejection of God himself. The third article refers to human sex as being
determined by nature, with male and female organs as sacrum in human body, given to human
beings by God to help him in acts of creation. The fourth and fifth article state that facing a
conflict between the law and his conscience a catholic doctor shall act only according to his
conscience, and that the signatories recognize the primacy of God’s laws above the human ones.
In the last article a general belief that the above described rules shall be respected, although no
one should be forced to act by them. The Declaration ends with a quote from Humanae Vitae
encyclical.

Since March 2014, almost 4.000 doctors and medicine students, including 59 professors
of medicine, have signed the Declaration. It has been approved as an “act of courage” by the

Belli L. F., Girdwoyń A. - The influence of Catholicism in political and legislative decisions regarding reproductive
technologies: similarities between Argentina and Poland
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polish Episcopate and the political party “Law and Justice” that won the elections in October
2015.

In October 2015 polish Constitutional Tribunal ruled that the law obliging physicians to
refer a person to another doctor or clinic in case the required services are against their conscience
is unconstitutional [20]. As a result, a physician can not only legally refuse performing an
abortion, but also legally refuse to indicate another doctor who could perform the procedure. The
ruling is considered to be an important victory of catholic organisations in Poland [21].

In October 2015 a catholic conservative party “Law and Justice” won the elections in
Poland. For the first time since the fall of communism in 1989 one political party dominates all
the major political institutions. The leader of the party, Jarosław Kaczynski, declares himself as a
devoted catholic. In some public speeches he claimed that in Poland “there is no other moral
philosophy that the catholic one” [22]. The government change will probably influence the
reproductive rights sphere in a significant way.

Conclusions

In most of the catholic countries it is undeniable that despite legal separation between Church
and State, the Catholic Church has successfully spread its influence over sexual and reproductive
rights. The current configurations of this field is the result of a history of tensions and disputes
between the State and the Catholic Church. This influence is clear not only regarding
legislations, but also at different levels of policy and practice.

This paper tried to present an overview on the Catholic influence on the debate on
assisted reproductive technologies both in Argentina and Poland, which relates to the issue of
abortion and the protection given to the ‘unborn’. The focus was set in showing the way in which
the terms of this debate are shaped and constrained by the historical relations of power between
the Church and the State.

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technologies: similarities between Argentina and Poland
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The church has a strong influence on the state and a weaker influence on the people in
Argentina, while in Poland there is a less influence at a state level but more influence on the
people. The ubiquitous presence of catholic symbols in public life than can be seen in both
countries is a constant reminder of the influence of the Church: catholic symbols (like crucifixes
or statues of the Virgin Mary) are often displayed in public facilities like courthouses, hospitals,
prisons or police precincts. Bishops often have a place alongside ministers, governors and other
officials in patriotic ceremonies. John Paul II and the current Pope, Francis, are usually invoked
as moral figures in political speeches and during the legislative sessions while discussing the
laws.

Both in Argentina and Poland the Catholic Church still plays a significant role in
reproductive health and rights decision-making at all levels of society, from policy-making to the
reproductive decisions made by individuals. The recent parliament and presidential wins in both
countries show, that the conservative, right-wing, catholic political factions are likely going to
have a huge influence on politics in the following years.

[1] Donum Vitae II, B, 4, 7.

[2] Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (1965) Vatican.
[3] We acknowledge that Catholicism is a diverse and heterogeneous social construct and that it coexists
different doctrinal and ideological positions, different ways of living the faith and practice religious rites.
[4] How and what kind of equality can be obtained are difficult questions to answer.
[5] Borland, Elizabeth (2004) Cultural Opportunity and Tactical Choice in the Argentine and Chilean
Reproductive Rights Movements, in Mobilization 9 (3): 327–339.
[6] Mallimaci F. (dir) (2008) Primera Encuesta sobre Creencias y Actitudes Religiosas en Argentina,
Ceil-Piette-Conicet, Buenos Aires.
[7] Esquivel JC, Vaggione JM. (2012) Encuesta Religión y Política: Creencias y actitudes religiosas de
los diputados y senadores nacionales en Argentina. Buenos Aires: CEIL-CONICET.
[8] The Episcopal Conference of Argentina expressed their concerns during the presentation of the project
asking the commission to change the proposed new reforms in divorce, adoption, and assisted
fertilization.
[9] The draft originally presented in June 2012 stated: Article 19. Beginning of existence. The existence of
the human person begins at conception in the womb. In the case of assisted human reproduction, it begins
with the implantation of the embryo in the woman, without prejudice to the special law providing for the
protection of non-implanted embryo.
[10] Article 25.2, The Constitution of the Republic of Poland (2010) transl. A. Pol and A. Caldwell, Sejm
Publishing Office, Warszawa.

Belli L. F., Girdwoyń A. - The influence of Catholicism in political and legislative decisions regarding reproductive
technologies: similarities between Argentina and Poland
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[11] P. Sarnecki (ed.) (2011) Prawo konstytucyjne Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej. C.H. Beck, Warszawa, s.
120.
[12] B. Banaszak (2012) Komentarz do Konstytucji RP, C.H. Beck, Warszawa <uzupełnić>
[13] A. Kulczycki, Abortion Policy in Postcommunist Europe: The Conflict in Poland, Population and
Development Review, vol. 21, no. 3 (Sep. 1995), pp. 471-505, B.J. Leslie, Poland, Abortion, and the
Roman Catholic Church, 17 B.C. Int'l & Comp. L. Rev. 453 (1994),
http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/iclr/vol17/iss2/7, M.W. Eberts (1998): The Roman Catholic Church and
democracy in Poland, Europe-Asia Studies, 50:5, 817-842
[14] Article 4a, Ustawa o planowaniu rodziny, ochronie płodu ludzkiego i dopuszczalności przerywania
ciąży z dnia 7 stycznia 1993 r. [Bill on family planning, protection of human fetes and the admissibility of
terminating pregnancy] (Dz.U. Nr 17, poz. 78)
[15] http://expatriate.pl/polish-parliament-to-vote-on-abortion-law-amendments
[16] http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/02/poland-end-state-funding-ivf-treatment
[17] Konstytucja RP, art. <uzupełnić>
[18] Art. 8, Ustawa z dnia 23 kwietnia 1964 r. – Kodeks cywilny [Civil Code], Dz.U. z 2014 r., poz. 121
ze zm.
[19] http://www.deklaracja-wiary.pl; english version: http://matercare.org/news-publications/mci-
publications/declaration-of-faith-english/
[20] http://trybunal.gov.pl/rozprawy-i-ogloszenia-orzeczen/wyroki/art/8602-prawo-do-odmowy-
wykonania-swiadczenia-zdrowotnego-niezgodnego-z-sumieniem/, http://www.en.ordoiuris.pl/polish-
constitutional-tribunal-dismissed-limitations-to-medical-doctors-conscientious-objection,3677,i.html
[21] https://agendaeurope.wordpress.com/2015/10/08/poland-constitutional-court-confirms-and-widens-
the-right-to-conscientious-objection-for-medical-practitioners/
[22] http://wpolityce.pl/kosciol/259023-kaczynski-na-jasnej-gorze-nie-ma-w-polsce-innej-nauki-
moralnej-niz-ta-ktora-glosi-kosciol-i-nawet-gdyby-ktos-nie-wierzyl-ale-byl-patriota-to-musi-przyjac-ze-
nie-ma-polski-bez-kosciola

Belli L. F., Girdwoyń A. - The influence of Catholicism in political and legislative decisions regarding reproductive
technologies: similarities between Argentina and Poland