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Morning After Pill Back in Virginia School

HARRISONBURG, Va, January 13, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The James Madison University Board of Visitors voted Friday to authorize the JMU Health Centre to resume dispensing emergency contraception pills. Last April, by a 7-6 vote, the board had directed the health centre to cease distributing the pills. In June, the terms of five members of the board expired, leaving space for Democratic Gov. Mark R. Warner to appoint their successors. The successors provided enough support to reverse the earlier decision by a margin of 10 to 2.

Victoria Cobb, a Family Foundation lobbyist, told Associated Press that "It comes as no surprise that the governor's self-picked political patrons have reversed a decision that was intended to protect the health of young women."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration classifies the pill as a contraceptive, whereas Canadian Physicians For Life president Dr. Rob Pankratz states that, in approximately 75 percent of cases, the MAP is abortifacient, in that it makes implantation of a newly formed foetus impossible. In the other 25 percent of cases, if the pill is taken before ovulation, ovulation may be inhibited. Dr. Pankratz goes on to say "use of the [MAP] involves a direct attack on an already formed unique human life."

Dr. Pankratz also documents a troubling 10-fold increase in dangerous ectopic pregnancies caused by the use of the MAP.

The Physicians For Life website (http://www.physiciansforlife.ca) warns that increased access to the MAP will increase its use. "The 1998-99 annual report of Planned Parenthood Federation of America showed an 83.5% increase in 'emergency contraception clients,'" the report says.

The same Physicians For Life report also states "Manufacturers stress that the [MAP] is not intended for repetitive use but offer no realistic plan to prevent this. In Asia, repetitive [MAP] use (and health consequences) have become commonplace, and health authorities there have become concerned."

To provide feed-back to the Board of Visitors at James Madison University, contact Fred Hilton by e-mail at or by phone at (540) 568-3474.

Read former LifeSiteNews.com coverage
"FDA Begins Debate on Availability of Morning-After Pill Tuesday," at:
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2003/dec/03121205.html

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