 The date was due to the Catholic Holy Day of the Annunciation (that is, the conception, by the Blessed Virgin Mary, of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in her womb).The Menem administration had already aligned with the Holy See in its complete rejection of abortion and contraception.During the first celebration of the new holiday, in 1999, the President stated that "the defense of life" was "a priority of [Argentina's] foreign policy".