Santiago, Chile, May 10, 2004 / 22:00 pm
Several bishops in Chile have announced their firm support for the right of mayors to refuse to distribute the morning after pill, after the government’s Ministry of Health announced it would force local leaders to make the abortifacient drug available in their municipalities.
Archbishop Antonio Moreno of Concepcion announced his support for the mayors who refuse to make the pill available and he called on the government to refrain from employing “totalitarian” actions to force distribution.
The Archbishop spoke on Chilean television, saying, “An imposition of this type constitutes the essence of totalitarianism.” “Totalitarianism consists in wishing to impose a specific political or ideological vision upon the totality of human existence and to submit the existence of mankind to this regime,” he explained.
Bishop Manuel Camilo Vial of Temuco reminded mayors that they have the right to conscientiously object to the distribution of the drug.
“It may cost them their jobs, but if in their conscience they feel they cannot approve of a medicine that will cause an abortion, the death of a living being, I believe we call those consequences,” he said.