International Day of the Unborn Child
The International Day of the Unborn Child or the Day for Life is an annual commemoration of unborn children, observed as a day of opposition to abortion, on March 25. It was established by Pope [John Paul II] to coincide with the Feast of the Annunciation. John Paul II viewed the day as "a positive option in favour of life and the spread of a culture for life to guarantee respect for human dignity in every situation".
History
In 1993, El Salvador became the first nation to officially celebrate what was called a Day of the Right to Be Born.John Paul II in his encyclical Evangelium vitae wrote:
Subsequently other countries initiated official celebrations for the unborn, for example in 1998 the Day of the Unborn in Argentina and the Life Sanctity Day in Poland, in 1999 the Day of the Conceived and Unborn in Chile, the National Day of the Unborn in Guatemala, and the National Day of Life Before Birth in Costa Rica. Nicaragua began observing the Day of the Unborn Child in 2000, the Dominican Republic in 2001, Peru in 2002, Paraguay in 2003, the Philippines in 2004, Honduras in 2005, Ecuador in 2006, and Puerto Rico in 2018. In Chile the Chamber of Deputies officially approved the Day of the Unborn Child and Adoption in 2013.