The non-profit organizations Alianza Cristiana Dominicana (ACD) and Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir (CDDRD) reject the suspension for six months of Reverend Betania Figueroa for publicly and personally supporting the voluntary interruption of pregnancy on three grounds. The exception to the total ban on abortion is a hot topic presently being debated in Congress. The Roman Catholic and Evangelical churches have a strong position in favor of not accepting exceptions to abortions.
Figueroa was suspended by the executive committee of the Dominican Evangelical Church (IED) after expressing her support for abortion if the pregnancy presents a risk to the woman’s life, is the result of rape incest or if there are malformations of the fetus.
The two above-mentioned religious support groups say the penalizing of Reverend Betania Figueroa is evidence of the reason why many people of faith, who support the three causes within the different churches of the country, do not dare to do so publicly, for fear of being punished by the leadership of the churches.
In a letter sent to the IED, the two organizations requested that Reverend Figueroa be reinstated in her pastoral and administrative functions and offered a public apology.
A Gallup poll in 2019 revealed that 69% of Dominicans favor the three grounds for abortion.
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31 March 2021