At the end of the Amnesty International Council meeting on Friday, the human rights group has affirmed its policy on supporting selected aspects on abortion drawing the ire of the Catholic Church.
400 delegates from 75 countries met at Mexico City and committed the organisation to its earlier policy of 'work(ing) for universal respect for sexual and reproductive rights' for both men and women.
The human-rights movement has stated on its website: "It will support the decriminalisation of abortion, to ensure women have access to health care when complications arise from abortion and defend women's access to abortion."
The Catholic Church is calling on world-wide Catholic organisations to withdraw their support for Amnesty International, declaring its decision to allow for 'selective-abortion' was a betrayal to its mission.
In early-June, the Holy See Justice and Peace, Cardinal Renato Martino, told Reuters that 'selective-abortion' was defining the innocent child as an enemy that must be destroyed and as such the organisation would face 'inevitable consequence' for its decision
"To selectively justify abortion, even in the cases of rape, is to define the innocent child within the womb as an enemy, a 'thing' that must be destroyed," Cardinal Martino said.
"No more Catholic financing of Amnesty International after the organisation's pro-abortion about-turn."
In addition to his comment to Reuters, Cardinal Martino also took another swipe at the human-rights group telling an American Catholic newspaper that its new stance on abortion 'disqualified Amnesty International as a defender of human rights.'
The Amnesty International Council meeting convenes every two years to plan, review and decide the organization's human rights work.