Widespread distribution of morning-after pill fits into Spanish government’s agenda

Madrid, Spain, Sep 30, 2009 / 21:04 pm

The organizations Professionals for Ethics and Responsible Pharmacies Network are  criticizing the decision by the Spanish government to allow the morning-after pill to be distributed in pharmacies without a prescription or an age restriction.
 
Fabian Fernandez de Alarcon, general secretary for Professionals for Ethics, said the measure is a manifestation of the government’s ideological agenda, which he said is taking precedence over the public’s health and the best interests of Spaniards. 

It is an attempt to “banalize sexual relations and turn them into a game deprived of any humanity and responsibility,” he said. Furthermore, he said, the ruling separates “children from their parents when it comes to important decisions,” and  makes abortion, “which can now be carried out by simply taking a pill, something trivial.”
 
Alarcon noted that the pill often thwarts implantation “and thus has an abortifacient effect.  The woman who ingests this pill can suffer an abortion without even realizing it,” apart from all of the problematic side effects, he commented.
 
He called the measure another step towards “the total liberalization of abortion,” which is just as dangerous when done medically as when done surgically.

Alarcon said distributing the pill to minors was “contrary to all logic” and to “health care norms, which prohibit minors from purchasing drugs that are much less harmful than this pill.”