Denver, Colo., Feb 10, 2005 / 22:00 pm
In a guest comment in the Denver Post Feb. 8, Archbishop Charles Chaput explained why the Catholic Church cannot support legislation that would require hospitals in the state to provide emergency contraception for women who are raped.
The archbishop of Denver was responding to State Rep. Fran Coleman, a Catholic legislator, who recently took issue with Catholic resistance to portions of HB 1042.
Archbishop Chaput stated that while Catholic teaching supports the right of rape victims to defend themselves against potential conception by preventing ovulation, it could not support methods that would work as abortifacients and eliminate the fertilized egg.
“If the hormonal agents used in emergency contraception are intended to suppress ovulation, and if they're applied at a point in a victim's cycle where they truly can prevent ovulation, Catholics can support their use,” he explained.