Pope Francis just wrapped up a six-day trip to Cuba and Mexico. The Zika virus wasn’t on his agenda, but on his flight back to the Vatican last night, he was asked whether church teaching on abortion and contraception could be loosened to help stop the spread of the virus to babies. Zika is thought to cause microcephaly, a birth defect that results in shrunken heads and brains in infants. It’s been spreading through Latin America, which is heavily Catholic, and the church’s teaching on abortion and contraception is very strict. How is religion clashing with medical science?
Photo by Alfredo Borba
