Colombia’s Inspector General’s Office demands that morning-after pills containing Levongestrel be taken off the market, because, says the IG, the pills can be used to abort pregnancies.
When the pill is taken after fertilization has occurred, it can lead to the termination of the pregnancy.
According to the Inspector General, using pills with Levongestrel is “a clear violation of the right to life, as with fertilization a new human life begins.”
Inspector General Alejandro Ordoñez is a devoted Catholic and a vociferous opponent of abortion. Colombia’s constitution allows abortion only in the case of rape, life-threatening complications for the mother, or the serious deformation of the unborn baby.
The IG’s call to prohibit the use of the morning-after pill comes days after a proposal to make the drug free for minors, to decrease the high number of teenage pregnancies in Colombia.
The use of the morning-after pill is controversial for Catholics because, as well as delaying ovulation, it can be used as an abortificant if taken after fertilization already has taken place.
Levongestrel is a common component of morning-after pills in most part of the world and considered to be the most effective active ingredient.