Madrid, Spain, May 12, 2009 / 08:01 am
The director of the Life Foundation in Spain, Manuel Cruz, denounced the country’s Minister of Health, Trinity Jimenez, for distributing the morning-after pill without a prescription in an attempt to “publicize the new abortion law.”
Cruz explained that the presumption is that the pill would lead to a drop in the amount of terminated pregnancies by reducing the number of surgical abortions, but in reality the pill is “an abortifacient drug.”
He also criticized the Ministry for insisting “on promoting irresponsible measures for women. They recognize the risk that it carries as a hormonal drug, but they still encourage its use.”
“What measures is the Health Ministry going to take to prevent abuse by young people, who will see it as a comfortable and safe contraceptive method, when it is actually an abortifacient? he questioned. The youth will “be deprived of the professional advice of a doctor.”
Cruz also called on the Ministry to “provide all of the information possible about the adverse effects of this drug. They need to let people know that in Perugia, various pharmacists have said that extra-uterine pregnancies are more common in women who have taken the morning-after pill.”
“If the objective is to improve the sexual health of young people, the minister’s decision is incorrect, since between 2001 and 2005, its availability did not reduce the number of abortions but did increase the engaging in risky relationships.”