Bishop says university plan to distribute abortion pill “immoral”

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Aug 30, 2007 / 09:06 am

Auxiliary Bishop Antonio Marino of La Plata warned this week that the National University of La Plata is committing an immoral action by offering the morning-after pill free of charge to students, because it goes against “a principle that is non-negotiable, which is the respect for life.”

The university announced recently it would offer the pill free of charge to its more than 50,000 students as part of the National Program of Sexual Health and Responsible Procreation.

Bishop Marino told reporters the distribution of the pill “is legal but not moral.  Not everything that is legal is good.  This program goes against a principle that is non-negotiable, which is the respect for life. The morning-after pill is abortifacient. We cannot allow this intrusion that would promote promiscuity,” he said.

Likewise, although university officials say they are not trying to promote abortion and are only seeking to help students avoid unwanted pregnancies and dangerous situations, the pastor of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Gonnet, Father Eduardo Lorenzo, said, “Their responsibility is not to accept lesser evils but rather to do what ought to be done.”  Speaking on a local radio program, he reaffirmed the Church’s condemnation of abortion and abortifacient pills saying, “We are not going to condemn anyone for having a different opinion,” but “sometimes certain people engage in overly populist and demagogic rhetoric” designed to win over young people.

The university, which already distributes more than 20,000 condoms per year, is the first to implement a government program on sexual health, generating fierce controversy both on and off campus.