The top Philippines lawmaker says Iceland’s abortions are worse than its killing of drug dealers, and called for the UN to investigate the Nordic nation’s terminations instead of probing Manila’s war on drugs.
“They have more unborn babies that they have aborted or killed,” Senate President Vicente Sotto said on Monday. “There are more killings in abortion than the drug pushers.”
Sotto’s comments come after the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution calling for an end to the Philippines’ extrajudicial killing of drug dealers Thursday. He called for Iceland, which introduced the resolution, to be investigated instead and said that because Iceland lacks a moral ground to lecture the Philippines, “we should disregard that resolution.”
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte reacted to the resolution on Friday by claiming Iceland had no crimes because “they just go about eating ice.”
Senator Imee Marcos called on the Philippines to cut ties with Iceland, and said developed nations that allow abortions have “distorted values and double-standard morality.”
“They point a finger at the Philippines for alleged human rights violations, yet they justify the killing of defenseless, unborn children,” she said.
Thousands of suspected drug dealers have been killed by Philippines police since President Duterte launched his crackdown on narcotics after entering office in 2016. The police deny they execute suspects, and Duterte denies that the killings are state-sponsored and says the harsh measures are necessary to combat drug cartels.
“The criminals can fight back, the babies cannot. What human rights are they talking about?” Sotto said.