The Pope Gets Tough on Abortion during Visit to Brazil

Today, in the world's largest Roman Catholic Country, Pope Benedict XVI is emphasizing that politicians who vote to legalize abortion should "exclude themselves from communion." This comes at a sensitive time for Latin America. In Brazil, where abortion is against the law except in limited circumstances, the number of illegal abortions is estimated at one to two million a year. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is opposed to the procedure himself, recently said that if the state abdicates from considering abortion as a public health question it will lead to "the deaths of many young women." Church leaders have denounced a proposal for a national referendum.Jack Chang is South America Correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers.