Mexican church critical after government approves morning-after pill

Published: 2004-01-27

MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- Catholic leaders protested Mexican government approval of the use of the morning-after pill as a family planning method. The Mexican bishops' conference said the morning-after pill amounts to abortion, which the church opposes. Bishop Jose Martin Rabago of Leon, president of the bishops' conference, said that authorizing the use of the morning-after pill encourages irresponsible sexual behavior. "There is an implicit message: Let's give them the chance to enjoy sexuality ... (while) avoiding the risks and implications that all this implies," Bishop Martin said. Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera of Mexico City said the pill violates the law; most Mexican states prohibit abortion under any circumstance. "When (a drug) causes an abortion, that is called murder, and it is illegal to murder an innocent person," Cardinal Rivera told the daily Universal Jan. 25.

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