LONDON, Jan 10, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The Methodist Church in England has openly given support to the British government’s initiative to provide abortifacient morning-after pills to students in schools without parental notification. The Rev David Deeks, the Church’s spokesman on church and society affairs, is recorded in the Daily Telegraph as saying: “We want to encourage young people to continue exploring our vision for human relationships even if they choose to behave in ways which contradict it. We will not exclude them from the ongoing task, or penalize them, but rather extend to them as to everyone respect, care and protection.” Mr Deeks said school nurses must give contraceptive advice to girls taking the morning-after pill, inform their GPs and encourage them to talk to their parents.
The paper also reports that while the Anglican Church of England has not commented officially, the Anglican Archbishop of Wales, Dr Rowan Williams, has stated his opposition, describing the drug as a form of abortion. The Catholic Church in England and Wales has repeatedly condemned the action.
See the Telegraph’s coverage at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=000579381554028&rtmo=wenKfMAb&atmo=99999999&pg=/et/01/1/10/nmeth10.html