Santiago, Chile, May 13, 2004 / 22:00 pm
Speaking with reporters at the Vatican, Chilean Cardinal Jorge Medina said the distribution of the morning after pill, with its known abortifacient nature, is an “abominable crime.”
The Cardinal told Terra.cl that “if the government authorizes the sale of a product which is abortifacient, it is favoring something that is contrary to the teaching of the Church. And not only that, I believe it is against simple moral teaching.”
According to Cardinal Medina, the results of a poll that indicate 86% of Chileans favor the use of the morning after pill in cases of rape, reveal that there is a lack of proper formation in areas of sexuality and reproduction among Chileans.
The sale of the morning after pill, he said, is an “abominable crime” and is a contradiction for a country such as Chile which has outlawed the death penalty through a measure that was debated in Congress, “and yet because of an administrative decision which has not been debated anywhere, a decision has been made regarding children in their mother’s wombs, whether they are responsible for their pregnancies or not. We should not be foolish and believe that the pills will be used only by young women who have been raped.”