"Status quaestionis" de la relación entre el virus del Zika y los problemas congénitos, y su relación con el aborto en brasil

Abstract

Status Quaestionis of the Relationship Between the Zika Virus and Congenital Problems, and Its Relation to Abortion in Brazil Keywords: Zika virus; congenital disorders; abortion The Zika virus was discovered in 1947 and, from 2007, it causes some epidemics in the Pacific islands. Despite the high level of infectivity in these epidemics, the symptoms are very light, without any associated grave pathology. In 2014, during the epidemic in the French Polynesia, the infection by the virus becomes associated with the Guillain Barré syndrome. However, it is towards the end of 2015, in an epidemic in Brazil, that the virus becomes associated with congenital problems. This possible teratogenicity generates scientific, juridical, moral and social debate -amplified by the Olympic Games in Brazil- worldwide. This work is an ample exposition of the events that happened from the discovery of the virus up to the end of 2018. The first part historically traces the scientific facts related to the virus and to the problems derived from the infection, with a special emphasis on the question of whether or not the virus causes the congenital problems. The second part exposes the social and juridical consequences, clarifying the disconnection between the biological facts and the defense of the decriminalization of abortion in cases of infection by the Zika virus. The last part of the work presents, from different perspectives of moral theology, the strategies utilized by the abortionist lobby and its immorality. The importance of this work lies in the systematization of the biological facts that permit their moral evaluation as well as in the interdisciplinarity and dialogue among the different areas of human knowledge.