PHILADELPHIA — On Feb. 21, the German Bishops' Conference announced that Catholic hospitals under their jurisdiction could prescribe the “morning-after pill” to rape victims, a policy shift that reflects the position of the U.S. bishops.
The German bishops stated that Church health-care facilities could provide the medication as long as it would have “a preventive and not an abortive effect. Medical and pharmaceutical methods which result in the death of an embryo still may not be used.”
The announcement came in the wake of a public outcry in Germany, after a rape victim was denied treatment at two Catholic hospitals in Cologne because emergency contraception could not be prescribed.
Hours after the news from Germany, some U.S. media cited the policy change as evidence that the Catholic Church no longer believed that Plan B acted as an abortifacient. Further, commentators suggested that the news raised questions about the Health and Human Services' mandate legal challenges filed by Christian business owners, who said they could not provide abortion-inducing drugs, like Plan B and “ella,” in their employee health plans.
However, Marie Hilliard, a bioethicist at the Philadelphia-based National Catholic Bioethics Center, which advises the U.S. bishops on health-care issues, rejected the suggestion that the Church no longer viewed the morning-after pill as an abortifacient.
She explained that the Church only permitted the administration of the drug for rape victims after first testing to confirm that the patient had not begun to ovulate. If ovulation had commenced, the drug was not prescribed because it could act as an abortifacient by preventing implantation of an embryo.
A Feb. 21 NPR news story suggested that the drugs were not abortifacient and thus HHS mandate plaintiffs like Hobby Lobby may have little justification for opposing the mandate. Unlike Catholic plaintiffs who have filed lawsuits against the mandate and object to providing both contraceptive and abortifacient drugs because both violate Church teachings, Hobby Lobby’s evangelical Christian owners oppose the provision of abortifacient drugs through the company’s medical plan.
“It turns out, at least when it comes to Plan B, there is now fairly definitive research that shows the only way it works is by preventing ovulation and, therefore, fertilization,” stated the NPR story.
As further evidence of the growing acceptance of morning-after pills, the NPR story reported that “ella is now available in heavily Roman Catholic Italy, for example. And on Thursday, Germany's conference of bishops said both drugs are acceptable to give to rape victims in Catholic hospitals.”
NPR also noted opposing views by Christian health-care experts, but the thrust of the story was that new research had essentially resolved moral concerns about the use of Plan B and that the German bishops’ policy reflected that fact.
The Daily Kos was among several other news websites with a similar message: “Bad News for Religious Zealots: Plan B Isn’t an Aabortion” was the Daily Kos’ headline.
Abortifacient Effect Acknowledged
Hilliard challenged the conclusions of the experts cited by NPR and several other news organizations. She said the drug’s manufacturers have acknowledged that Plan B could function in several ways, including preventing the implantation of an embryo, effectively ending the pregnancy.
Hilliard confirmed that the German bishops’ position, as initially outlined in a Jan. 31 statement by Cardinal Joachim Meisner, “is consistent with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ 'Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services.'”
According to the "Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services" developed by the USCCB Committee on Doctrine, “A female who has been raped should be able to defend herself against a potential conception from the sexual assault. If, after appropriate testing, there is no evidence that conception has occurred already, she may be treated with medications that would prevent ovulation, sperm capacitation or fertilization."
“It is not permissible, however, to initiate or to recommend treatments that have as their purpose or direct effect the removal, destruction or interference with the implantation of a fertilized ovum” (No. 36).
In an interview with the Register, Hilliard explained that Catholic hospitals only prescribe the morning-after pill to prevent ovulation — after first administering “a simple urine test to determine if the emergency contraception can be given at a time that offers the possibility of preventing ovulation.”
“Research clearly indicates that if this test is positive, emergency contraception cannot stop ovulation [and the morning-after pill ethically cannot be administered],” said Hilliard. “Thus, Catholic hospitals use this test as part of a sexual-assault protocol to determine if pregnancy can be prevented.”
The patient is “provided with all the information she needs for informed consent,” she added. “This is just good medicine.”
However, Hilliard emphasized that the Church’s effort to respond to the comprehensive medical, emotional and spiritual needs of rape victims did not mean that the U.S. or German bishops no longer viewed the morning-after pill as an abortifacient.
In her view, the effort to dismiss moral objections to Plan B reflected, at least in part, a broader campaign to “redefine” contraception to include drugs that act as abortifacients.
Indeed, since the federal contraception mandate was approved in January 2012, the public debate over the drug’s impact on pregnancy has intensified. Plan B and ella are now both accessible without cost to most female employees and their female children who receive health insurance from private companies.
The Obama administration, in public statements and in briefs filed with courts, has acknowledged that the morning-after pill can prevent the implantation of an embryo.
“These covered prescription drugs are specifically those that are designed to prevent implantation,” Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, said in August 2011, though she disputed the suggestion that any drugs covered under the mandate were abortifacient.
Meanwhile, the Feb. 21 NPR report featured experts who said Plan B did not prevent implantation or, if it did, that did make it abortifacient. The news story concluded that the drug merely prevented “ovulation and, therefore, fertilization.”
Further, a Feb. 13 New York Times story referenced studies providing “strong evidence that the most commonly used pills do not hinder implantation, but work by delaying or preventing ovulation so that an egg is never fertilized.”
The NCBC’s Hilliard has consistently raised questions about such studies, noting that they do not effectively address discrepancies in the data collected.
Said Hilliard, “Despite secular trends to redefine conception to mean implantation of the conceived human being, it is a biological fact contained in any biology textbook that the new human being has been conceived at fertilization, which occurs five to 12 days before implantation.”
“The newly conceived embryo needs his or her mother’s womb to be nourished and to grow. Thus, drugs which have the potential to prevent implantation of the conceived human being are abortifacient, regardless of the deceptive language used to describe their function.”
Joan Frawley Desmond is the Register’s senior editor.
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A serious crack in church’s stance on protection of the unborn. So sad that the land that gave us Benedict XVI would be the first to start down the slippery slope.
Since the German Bishops are not scientific experts and they can not GUARENTEE that certain drugs will NOT cause an abortion (destruction of fertilized egg) - then what is the purpose of their pronouncement?
Are they trying to be popular with the secular masses?
Are they supporting abortion?
Are these Bishops violating Church teaching? Should they lose their Ecclisiastical Office per Code of Canon Law?
Anyone wanting abortafacient drugs should go to a secular hospital. Catholics do not support abortion.
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CCC: ” 2271 Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law:
You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.
God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves.
Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.”
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For scientific information on the internet see: ” The Endowment for Human Development “.
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CCC: ” 1759 An evil action cannot be justified by reference to a good intention” (cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, Dec. praec. 6). The end does not justify the means. “
Here is a link to how the Vatican PONTIFICAL ACADEMY FOR LIFE feels about this - from the official Vatican website:
STATEMENT ON THE SO-CALLED “MORNING-AFTER PILL”
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_academies/acdlife/documents/rc_pa_acdlife_doc_20001031_pillola-giorno-dopo_en.html
Found this on Mundabor’s Blog. http://mundabor.wordpress.com/ Thank you, Mundabor.
Here comes the one and only question - “What does the Pope say.”
Remember - throughout centuries, many of the Bishopricks were in heresy (for example Arianism.) Only the Bishopric of Rome never taught a lie and error.
Although it is sad for me to hear the statement, for plan B has the same ‘preventative’ meaning as contraception like a condom, and condom does not kill a baby, yet it is intrinsically evil. German Bishop say “use plan B as long as we fill good about it, while we still say NO to God, which does not bother us.” Sad.
From the above article:
“According to the “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services” developed by the USCCB Committee on Doctrine, “A female who has been raped should be able to defend herself against a potential conception from the sexual assault. If, after appropriate testing, there is no evidence that conception has occurred already, she may be treated with medications that would prevent ovulation, sperm capacitation or fertilization.”
“It is not permissible, however, to initiate or to recommend treatments that have as their purpose or direct effect the removal, destruction or interference with the implantation of a fertilized ovum” (No. 36).”
The German bishops are not in anyway allowing for Plan B to be used as a a contraceptive or an abortifacient. They are saying that a woman who has been raped, after testing to confirm that conception has not occurred, can use drugs to prevent her from ovulating.
This approval from German Bishops is almost giving permission to criminal to attack Catholic women. This is not the way to fight evil in the world. The evil must be confronted, and defeated! Surrendering and making a deal only aggravates the situation. God have Mercy!
The bishops have missed the point….. reducing the ‘consequences’ from abortion to an act of contraception is still endorsing contraception. Why is that bad?.. because it fails to acknowledge that that conception would not have happened had God not allowed it. I.E. He has other plans we are unaware of. He alone decides when conception (That’s the beginning of life, not implantation). Another example of fuzzy thinking which the Evil One just delights over. “How quick bright things come to confusion!”. Jerry R.
I believe this problem may be the event that forces Popes into nurturing and using the charism of clear infallibility in the extraordinary magisterium on these matters far more often than they have…once clearly. Abortion is thus condemned infallibly in section 62 of Evangelium Vitae wherein John Paul polled all Bishops worldwide and got their consensus under him on its condemnation and used a shortened form of the ex cathedra wording modified therein. But….that is the only thing that falls under clear infallibility. As one theologian pointed out, the front end of abortion remains undefined despite a consensus by pro life people that it includes pre implantation embryos. The theological periodicals like “Theological Studies” are read by Bishops and therein has been the debate on identical twinning at day 14 and after implantation…which is rarely discussed in lay pro life conversation. So you in effect have several communities within the same church speaking or simply silently thinking on different tracks. One group sees a person at day one and the other sees totipotential cells that are human but not committed to being one person or three yet at day 14 at the latest.
Papal infallibility is not used enough and that results in various sectors thinking they are near infallible in these matters…but with very different results. This crisis may force Popes to choose to withdraw and use the charism and settle it clearly in the extraordinary magisterium because once again, it seems that the universal ordinary magisterium is not evident to all parties….including Bishop conferences.
Thanks to Linda Nelson for the link. I does not say about this kind of use of the ‘Plan B’ but already warns about going ‘around’ the issue by finding different applications/words to say it is okay to do that (for example anti-implantation vs abortion.) To me stating it is okay to use it to prevent conception is the same as saying it is okay to use condom.
I will be praying to understand it and waiting for the official Church teaching on the subject. Then I will choose the Church, not me, and in case of having different opinion I will pray and read until I understand what the Church teaches.
BTW We are in a really big time storm. Really big. I guess Our Lady’s of Akita prophecy is fulfilling in our lives. The I pray the dream of Saint Don Bosco was true and we are heading to calm after the greatest storm the Church ever faced (due to our own - Catholics - sins.)
@Jason
How is this statement by the German bishops in any way giving criminals permission to attack Catholic women? Do you think rapists say to themselves “That woman has a Rosary, so she must be Catholic and therefore not using contraception, so I better not rape her”?
Thanks be to God for friends like the one I have. He is a really holy man. After all that rant of mine (you can read those above) I spoke with him asking his opinion.
He told me that there are two issues here. One is that we have no way to tell if there is fertilization of an ovum until a few days later on, so using current plan “B” will always be questionable. But there is also a different aspect to the problem - the rapist has no right to be a father. Sperm does not have a right, too. So having a way to block conception does not, in this circumstance, indicate any evil act. But, as I mentioned above, the issue is that the current plan “B” does not only block fertilization. It also blocks implantation of an already fertilized egg, and as such is an abortifacient, and should not be used. This explanation resonates in my mind and my heart. Now, it is time for me to read carefully what the German Bishops really wrote.
Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, was assaulted and crucified for each one of our sins and made no exceptions and made no particular lab tests required. The Morning-After pill rape exception with tests is scandalous and goes against the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church, harms women physically, mentally and spiritually, humanity, society and souls. Each one of us will face joys, trials and tribulations and must trust in God as Jesus taught us. Our Blessed Mother, too, showed us to trust in God’s will as she was betrothed to Joseph and risked losing Joseph as her husband and being stoned to death when Jesus was in her womb.
Jer 1:5
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you Cast all your cares on ME” 1 Peter 5:7
Please pray daily for God’s mercy, grace, healing and transformation on every heart, soul and mind, to love and serve God as He deserves and to love one another as we should, to live a chaste, obedient life to God as any soul losing our God would be an eternal regret.
The Morning-After pill does not guarantee no human life but will expose the woman to her own death, or a lifetime of regret as this baby still part of her, against our own nature to protect children, physical, mental, spiritual consequences and abuse in numbers as in vending machines in PA, CO, etc and harms women, families, society, humanity.
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