Chilean cardinal stirs controversy as country debates heartbeat law
The archbishop of Santiago, Chile, Cardinal Fernando Chomali, addressed the “Listen to Their Heart” bill, which seeks to mandate an opportunity for a prospective abortion patient to listen to the baby’s heartbeat, stating that what really matters is not taking an innocent life.
about 2 months ago
Chile’s “Listen to Their Heart” bill, which would require doctors to inform pregnant women of fetal heartbeat activity and offer them the chance to hear it before an abortion, has drawn sharp criticism from the country’s leading Catholic prelate. Cardinal Fernando Chomali, the archbishop of Santiago, argues that the focus should be on physicians’ moral responsibility rather than on the woman hearing the heartbeat, and he opposes all three current legal grounds for abortion in Chile 1
The bill seeks to amend Chile’s health code to make it a duty of doctors to disclose fetal heart activity and to provide the opportunity for the woman to listen to it before a pregnancy is terminated 1. It would apply to abortions currently permitted under three specific grounds: risk to the woman’s life, severe fetal anomalies, and cases of rape.
Chomali contends that the ethical issue lies with physicians who perform abortions, asserting that “doctors take an oath … to heal and never to cause harm” and that performing abortions violates this oath 1. He emphasizes that every unborn child is an “innocent human being” deserving of full care and that societal support—medical, psychological, spiritual, and financial—can help women choose against abortion.
While the cardinal acknowledges that a woman “could always have the option to hear the heartbeat,” he warns that making the listening mandatory would polarize the debate and distract from the core moral truth 1. He urges legislators to handle the bill prudently, with “great prudence, tact, and good judgment,” rather than using inflammatory language.
Chomali frames the bill as “one among many” that should be examined by the legislature, suggesting that all laws can be improved and that a comprehensive review of abortion regulations is needed 1. He stresses that the ultimate concern is the protection of human life, stating that “a human life is being eliminated” whenever an abortion occurs.
The cardinal admits that his uncompromising stance may isolate him, but he prefers to “stand alone rather than betray” what he sees as fundamental truth about the sanctity of life 1. His remarks reflect the Catholic Church’s broader opposition to abortion and its emphasis on pro‑life advocacy in Chile’s public discourse.
Investigate Catholic doctrine on abortion and legislative influence
Catholic doctrine teaches that procured (direct) abortion is intrinsically and gravely wrong—it is never made licit by circumstances, intention, or law. From that doctrine the Church draws concrete moral limits for participation in politics and lawmaking: Catholics may not collaborate in abortion laws, and those who are directly involved in lawmaking have a grave obligation to oppose laws that attack the inviolability of innocent human life; in some constrained situations, limited support for harm-reduction measures may be morally permissible.
The Church’s teaching centers on the utter inviolability of human life “from the moment of conception.” Pope John Paul II states that the Church “proclaim[s] with deep conviction” that any willful destruction of human life by procured abortion is not in accord with God’s commandment.
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith reiterates that “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception,” and that from the first moment of existence the human being must be recognized as having rights of a person, including “the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.”
The Church distinguishes direct abortion—abortion willed “either as an end or a means”—as gravely contrary to the moral law. The Catechism’s text (as quoted in the CDF clarification) states:
“Direct abortion… is gravely contrary to the moral law.”
A 1995 papal teaching emphasizes the same point: direct abortion is the deliberate killing of an innocent human being, and therefore constitutes “a grave moral disorder.”
The CDF clarification explicitly states: “The Church’s teaching on procured abortion has not changed, nor can it change.”
Likewise, Evangelium Vitae insists:
The Church also teaches moral gravity regarding participation:
A broader DDF “Declaration on procured abortion” also underscores that across history the Church treated even early procured abortion as objectively grave fault, even when discussions varied about details like penal gravity.
The Church teaches that civil society and political authority have a duty to respect rights that are not granted by the state. The CDF clarification frames the “inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual” as a constitutive element of civil society and its legislation, because rights “depend neither on single individuals nor on parents…; they belong to human nature.”
Accordingly, when legislative proposals “attack the very inviolability of human life,” Catholics have both a right and duty to recall society to a deeper understanding of human life and responsibility.
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (2002) teaches that:
So, Catholic “legislative influence” is not merely charitable advocacy; it is directly constrained by the moral impossibility of supporting what is intrinsically evil.
Catholic teaching also recognizes political reality: sometimes a law permitting abortion is already in force or cannot be completely repealed. In that situation, Evangelium Vitae (as summarized by the CDF 2002 text) teaches that:
This creates a disciplined moral category:
The same CDF document adds that a “well-formed Christian conscience” does not permit voting for a program or law that contradicts “the fundamental contents of faith and morals,” because faith is “an integral unity.”
Therefore, Catholics must treat abortion-related legislation not as one isolated issue among many negotiable compromises, but as a matter where communion with the Church’s moral teaching constrains choices.
Consistent with the Church’s claim that opposing abortion laws is a duty, Catholic political activity typically takes forms such as:
A USCCB letter applying this framework to a particular legislative proposal stresses that taxpayer-funded elective abortion fails to love and serve women and rejects the assumption that abortion is the “best” solution to pregnancy crisis; it urges rejection of the bill and emphasizes public policy that supports both mother and child.
While that document is a specific political application, the moral logic it uses aligns with the Church’s general teaching that policy can shape whether society recognizes and protects the right to life of the unborn.