Pope Francis on Wednesday told his weekly General Audience that life is sacred and must be defended since conception.
"Life is sacred because it is God's gift", the pontiff said.
"We are called to defend it and serve it since conception in the mother's womb until an advanced age, when it is marked by infirmity and suffering".
"It is not legitimate to destroy life, making it the object of experiments or false conceptions", Pope Francis went on to say.
"I ask you to pray for human life to be respected".
The pope has consistently upheld Catholic dogma on the holiness of the foetus.
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