Buenos Aires, Argentina, Dec 6, 2006 / 22:00 pm
As the Argentinean congress debates a measure that would make distribution of the morning after pill obligatory in the country, the Institute on Bioethics of the Catholic University of Argentina is calling on lawmakers to “care for life as a precious value” and not to force people to accept drugs that attack it.
In noting that the measure has not been appropriately debated, the Institute said the bill would eliminate the right of conscientious objection, violating a long democratic tradition based on fundamental human rights.
“Women and all citizens have the right to know about all of the possible mechanisms employed by the morning after pill through clear and objective information, so that with full understanding and clear consciences they can decide how to deal with this drug,” the Institute said.
The organization also questioned the motives of some in the country who “seek to foster a relativist mentality in the collective conscience” that would make people turn the other way when the State permits attacks against human life, “especially when it is weakest and most in need.”