Politics
Thursday September 6, 2001
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CHILEAN HEALTH MINISTRY DEFIES SUPREME COURT BY ALLOWING ABORTIFACIENT PILLS
SANTIAGO, September 6, 2001 (LSN.ca) - The same day that the Supreme Court in Chile banned one morning after pill since it can cause an abortion, the Ministry of Health approved another similar pill arguing that the court only banned a certain brand-name of abortifacient morning-after pill. Noting that abortion is illegal in Chile, the court decided Friday to ban use of the abortifacient morning after pill Postinal. Just moments after the ruling, the Health Ministry gave final approval to German drug maker Grunenthal's brand of abortifacient morning after pill.
Dan Zeidler, President of the Family Life Council and a representative for the Latin American Alliance for the Family, told LifeSite it is expected that the Supreme Court will clarify that the ban was against the action of the pill being abortifacient rather than the brand-name. However, the decision by the Ministry of Health to approve the alternate abortifacient is evidence of a deep divide between the current socialist government and long established socially conservative legal tradition. Government spokesman Claudio Huepe said "It is the Health Ministry that directs policy on these issues, and we do not think it is appropriate that health authorities can be overridden by law courts in these cases." However, pro-life observers point out that the courts merely pointed out that since the pills can cause abortions, approval of the pills is illegal since the law forbids abortion.
Reuters reported that current President Ricardo Lagos is the first Chilean leader to call himself a socialist since 1973. Lagos is also struggling with moral conservatives over the issues of divorce and sex education. His government criticized the high court for using its authority to override the health ministry in a medical issue, and criticized the Catholic Church for encouraging citizens not to vote for politicians supporting abortion or divorce. Chile, approximately 75% Catholic, is the only Western democracy in addition to Malta where divorce is illegal.
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