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_WORLD WATCH______________________________
________________Scotland_______________
Free abortifacients
Pharmacists’ group supports “morning-after” pill
Pharmacists in Fife, Scotland, are planning to offer the abortifacient “morning-after” pill free of charge.
Organized by the government-run Fife Primary Care NHS Trust, the plan will initially involve a limited number of pharmacies and begin in the autumn. The “morning-after” pill, Levonelle 2, became available from pharmacists in January, but at a cost of about $30 there were fears that many young women could not afford it. Under the pilot plan, women will also be offered free condoms and “sexual health” information leaflets.
A spokesman for the Scottish Executive told the Press Association, “It’s for the local NHS boards to decide on the most appropriate way to work out the local sexual health needs. This Fife project is a local pilot scheme and not an initiative which we are driving forward nationally.”
But a spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland said, “This pill can act as an abortion agent and people must remember that. Once again this initiative seems to be tackling the symptom rather than the cause.”
Back to Catholic World Report October 2001 Table of Contents