German Bishops' ruling on the morning after pill based on scientific myth
Morning-after pills all have abortive potential, doctor says
The reasoning offered by the German Catholic bishops for allowing the morning-after pill in rape cases is being faulted for citing information that is not medically accurate.
“There is absolutely no such pill with a 100 percent guarantee that it will not cause an abortion,” said Dr. Catherine Vierling, who studied medicine at the Universities of Paris and Strasbourg.
The German bishops unanimously agreed on Feb. 21 to allow the morning-after pill to be administered in Catholic health facilities for rape cases, provided that it is administered in a way that “has a preventive and not an abortive effect.”
Their decision came after a 25-year-old woman said she was raped and was refused treatment at two Catholic hospitals in Cologne.
“Medical and pharmaceutical methods which result in the death of an embryo still may not be used,” a Feb. 22 statement from the German Bishops’ Conference said.
However, as part of their discussion, Cardinal Karl Lehmann, president of the conference’s Commission for Doctrine and Faith, provided a moral and theological evaluation of the morning-after pill “on the basis of scientific findings on the availability of new compounds with modified effect.”
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Cathcon has made a request via the Bishops Conference website for the scientific findings on which the statement is based. The German Bishops owe it to the Catholic world to provide these as a matter of urgency.
The reasoning offered by the German Catholic bishops for allowing the morning-after pill in rape cases is being faulted for citing information that is not medically accurate.
“There is absolutely no such pill with a 100 percent guarantee that it will not cause an abortion,” said Dr. Catherine Vierling, who studied medicine at the Universities of Paris and Strasbourg.
The German bishops unanimously agreed on Feb. 21 to allow the morning-after pill to be administered in Catholic health facilities for rape cases, provided that it is administered in a way that “has a preventive and not an abortive effect.”
Their decision came after a 25-year-old woman said she was raped and was refused treatment at two Catholic hospitals in Cologne.
“Medical and pharmaceutical methods which result in the death of an embryo still may not be used,” a Feb. 22 statement from the German Bishops’ Conference said.
However, as part of their discussion, Cardinal Karl Lehmann, president of the conference’s Commission for Doctrine and Faith, provided a moral and theological evaluation of the morning-after pill “on the basis of scientific findings on the availability of new compounds with modified effect.”
Full story
Cathcon has made a request via the Bishops Conference website for the scientific findings on which the statement is based. The German Bishops owe it to the Catholic world to provide these as a matter of urgency.
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