Holy Father compares having an abortion to 'hiring a contract killer'

Pope Francis compares

While addressing thousands of people at the Vatican, Al Jazeera reports that the head of the Catholic church warned against having abortions.

He started by asking the crowd: "I ask you: Is it right to 'take out' a human life to solve a problem? What do you think? Is it right? Is it right or not?" To which the crowd replied: "No."

Next, Pope Francis went on to compare having an abortion to hiring a hitman.

In his words, "Interrupting a pregnancy is like eliminating someone. Getting rid of a human being is like resorting to a contract killer to solve a problem."

"Is it just to resort to a contract killer to solve a problem? It is not right to kill a human being, regardless of how small it is to solve a problem."

However, outlets like Reuters and The Guardian report that the pope likened having to abortions to hiring "a hitman."

According to Reuters, he continued, "A contradictory approach allows the suppression of human life in the mother's womb in the name of safeguarding other rights. But how can an act that suppresses an innocent and helpless life that is germinating be therapeutic, civilized or even simply human?"

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Pope Francis on abortion

This is not the first time the Catholic leader has denounced abortions.

In June 2018, he went as far as compare having abortions to Nazi crimes, urging parents to always accept their kids "as God gives them to us."

The ANSA news agency quoted him as saying: "Last century, the whole world was scandalized by what the Nazis did to purify the race. Today, we do the same thing but with white gloves."

Pope Francis' statements support the Roman Catholic Church's views on abortion. Over the years, this denomination has consistently condemned the act of taking of the life of the unborn child.

According to the Catholic News Agency, the Church teaches, "Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being" ("Donum Vitae," 5).