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PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT BANS MORNING-AFTER PILL BECAUSE IT CAUSES ABORTION

New Pressure from International De-Population Forces Highly Likely

MANILA, January 4, 2002 (LSN.ca) - The Bureau of Food and Drugs of the Philippines recently de-listed the so-called morning-after pill, Levonorgestrel (750 mcg.) from its Registry of Drug Products and directed the recall of all existing stocks in the country after finding that it is an abortive drug. Bureau Circular No. 18 issued on December 7 cancelled the certificate of registration for the drug, marketed in the Philippines as an "emergency contraceptive" under the brand name Postinor by its local licensee, Schwarz Pharma. The drug is manufactured in Hungary by Gedeon-Richter.

The Circular, issued by Bureau Director William Torres and approved by Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit, M.D., also prohibited further importation of the drug, including its use and sale in the country. The directive comes on the heels of a finding by the Bureau that the drug, taken within three days after intercourse, inhibits the implantation of the already fertilized ovum (technically the blastocyst) into the mother's womb by rendering the womb inhospitable.

The Bureau's finding in October last year cited medical testimonies from local and foreign authorities gathered by ABAYPAMILYA FOUNDATION (Family Front International), a pro-life non-government organization which initiated a complaint about the drugs. Dr. Dianne Irving and Dr. Chris Kahlenborn of the United States submitted extensive studies on the subject. Mr. John Wilkes of Australia likewise made a scholarly contribution. Other testimonies came from Dr. Gil Fernandez, President of the Philippine Medical Association, Dr. Corazon Lim, President of the Philippine Obstetrical & Gynecological Society, and several local pharmaceutical associations.

Acccording to ABAYPAMILYA lawyer and spokeman, Jo Imbong, the continued importation, prescription, sale and use of the drug will result in heavy penalties under the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act, the Consumer Code of the Philippines and the country's Penal Code. Government and private physicians who prescribe it also risk criminal liability, she added. "In this country, abortion has always been a serious criminal offense even before the 1987 Constitution expressly protected the life of the unborn from the moment of conception. This makes the Philippines the only country in Asia to ban the morning-after pill after it was first banned in August last year in the Republic of Chile."

Canadian pro-lifers were thrilled with the news but warned that the Philippines would come under heavy pressure to reverse the decision from de-population forces such as the UN, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, the European Union, International Planned Parenthood and Canada. LifeSite reported in December 2000 that Indonesia caved in to pressure from the United Nations and the World Health Organization to permit the sale of the morning-after-pill despite opposition by the country's Muslim majority.

See LifeSite's expose on the International Consortium pushing the morning-after pill at:
http://lsn.ca/ldn/1999/dec/991210a.html

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