BRATISLAVA, Slovakia, February 17, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Last Wednesday, the Slovak parliament rejected a proposal that would have required a doctor to inform a woman when prescribing any hormonal contraceptive or intrauterine device (IUD) about its abortifacient effect, as well as to suggest to her a non-abortifacient alternative.
The bill also proposed the following measures:
- Warning labels on contraceptive packages similar to those on cigarettes, saying: “The Pill causes abortion.”
- Prescription of morning-after pill as opposed to over-the-counter sale, which is allowed in Slovakia.
- Statistical data collection from women on whether contraceptive failure is the reason they are having an abortion.
- Links to non-profit organizations and church groups providing information on non-abortifacient contraceptives to be published on the website of the Health Ministry of Slovakia.
While the bill was rejected, the sponsors of the measure said they were pleased that over a third of the parliament voted in its favor.
The bill was initiated by Jana Tutkova, the director of the Slovak Center for Bioethical Reform (CBR). “The vote signalized that over one third of the Slovak Parliament recognizes that life begins at conception,” she said. “This fact has been confirmed by contraceptive producers, who admit that hormonal contraceptives cause death to the conceived embryo. However, they withhold it from women on the package inserts, though admit it on the inserts for physicians.”
CBR conducted research on hormonal contraceptives registered in Slovakia and found out that among 18 hormonal contraceptives (including morning-after pills) only 5 vaguely admit the abortifacient effect on their package inserts.
“This is very important information for women to exercise their free choice,” commented Tutkova. “Many would not take the pill if they knew they might be killing their conceived child. The Slovak Constitution guarantees the right to information to all and the pharmaceutical industry purposely withholds it from the public to keep women in the dark about their reproductive powers.”
CBR says that the Slovak branch of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) realized the importance of the bill and sent its position paper to MPs in an attempt “to twist the definition of pregnancy.” CBR argued its position by bringing up the terminology used in in vitro fertilization (IVF), which refers to the embryo and pregnancy even before implantation. Several medical dictionaries define the beginning of pregnancy from the moment of conception, though the pharmaceutical industry has over the decades attempted to redefine the term.
CBR says their strategy was to test political moods and raise public awareness on the abortifacient effect of hormonal contraceptives through submitting this bill in Parliament. By received media coverage “the taboo surrounding this issue was broken,” they report.
The bill was proposed by two MPs from the government opposition, which likely had an impact on its failure. CBR says they will attempt to resubmit the measure in a few months, noting that a previous bill introducing compulsory information for women before abortion was only passed last year after its second time before the Parliament.