Peruvian Bishops demand “truth about morning after bill” not be distorted

Lima, Peru, Apr 4, 2004 / 22:00 pm

The leadership of the Peruvian Bishops Conference issued a statement protesting “the distortion of the truth about the morning after pill,” recalling that the drug does indeed work as an abortifacient.

The bishops denounced the proposal by the Health Ministry to “introduce a distribution campaign of the so called ‘morning after pill’.”

In this sense, they clarified that under the name “emergency contraception,” a drug may be distributed with scientifically proven effects which “inhibit ovulation, slow the advance of sperm cells, prevent the buildup of lining in the uterus to prevent implantation of a human embryo, thus causing its death.  Because of this, the pill is abortifacient.”

The bishops underscore that “this campaign erodes continues to erode the moral foundation of our society, because by attacking the life of the unborn, which is the first and most basic of all rights, we are opening the way to a further breakdown of our society.”

The bishops also point out that Peru’s constitution recognizes the right to life of the unborn.

“The good of the child is never opposed to the good of the mother, and to present them in opposition to each other is false,” they warned.

The bishops called on “men and women of good will to defend the dignity of the human person by defending those who have no voice and are in danger of being deprived of their first right: life,” and they asked “those institutions and individuals who are responsible for matters of law in our country to act effectively in defense of the Constitution.”