PHA-Exchange> NEWS: Policy on Morning-After Pill Upsets Chile

[Marcy Bloom]

 NEWS: Policy on Morning-After Pill Upsets Chile

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/17/world/americas/17chile.html?ei=5087%0A&em=
&en=3c4b0f1cdd885c19&ex=1166504400&pagewanted=print
 
December 17, 2006
 
Policy on Morning-After Pill Upsets Chile 
 
By LARRY ROHTER
SANTIAGO, Chile, Dec. 16 - President Michelle Bachelet of Chile is a
feminist and physician who used to practice pediatric medicine at public
clinics in poor neighborhoods. So it was hardly surprising that her
government recently liberalized contraception policy by making the so-called
morning-after pill available free at state-run hospitals.

But since Chile is perhaps the most socially conservative country in South
America, the measure has generated complaints and challenges not only on the
right, but even from some of her allies. Opponents of the policy are furious
because girls as young as 14 are being allowed to have access to the
emergency contraception without any requirement that their parents be
notified.

"It is hard to understand the motive for such a reaction," Maria Soledad
Barria, the minister of health and a physician, said in an interview here
this week. After all, she noted, the age of consent in Chile is 14, and the
morning-after pill, also known as Plan B emergency contraception, has been
available at private pharmacies catering to the well-to-do for five years
and has survived court challenges.

According to government statistics, 15 percent of all births in Chile are to
mothers 18 or younger, most too poor to afford private care. Ms. Bachelet
has framed the issue as one of social justice, arguing that because "not
everyone is equal and not everyone has the same possibilities," her duty is
"to guarantee that all Chileans have real options in this area, as in
others."

The influential Roman Catholic Church, however, has condemned distribution
of the pill as a form of abortion that encourages promiscuity and intrudes
on personal freedoms. In a statement, the national conference of bishops
said the government's actions are "reminiscent of public policies
established in totalitarian regimes, by which the state aimed to regulate
the intimate lives of its citizens."

The Rev. Marcos Burzawa, director of the family vicariate for the archbishop
of Santiago, said the government had "failed to consult and converse
adequately with parents and other sectors of society." As a result, he said,
"parents feel their views have not been taken into account and that these
norms deprive them of their role as the primary educators and tutors of
their children."

Opponents have also expressed concerns that the morning-after pill is really
"a Trojan horse designed to clear the way for the legalization of abortion,"
in the words of Pablo Zalaquett, mayor of Santiago's La Florida borough, who
has filed a suit seeking to halt the policy. Abortion is outlawed in this
nation of 16 million, though public health experts estimate that at least
150,000 abortions are performed each year.

Government officials dismiss such concerns as baseless, part of an effort by
the right-wing opposition to divide the government. They say that abortion
is not on the president's legislative agenda, while acknowledging that some
lawmakers in the coalition may disagree and act on their own against her
wishes.

"We are not going to do absolutely anything in this area, which is not part
of our governing program," Dr. Barria said. When asked why, in view of Ms.
Bachelet's feminist and professional background, she replied, "We are in a
coalition."

Since the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet ended in 1990, Chile has
been governed by a center-left alliance whose main components are Ms.
Bachelet's Socialist Party and the Christian Democrats, who are more
conservative on social issues. Though Socialists in Congress recently
introduced a bill to legalize abortion, the Christian Democrats vehemently
oppose such legislation and have expressed doubts about the morning-after
pill policy.

"When we are talking about girls between the ages of 14 and 18, parental
consent is important," said Senator Soledad Alvear, president of the
Christian Democrats and Ms. Bachelet's main rival for the alliance's
presidential nomination last year. "They can't vote or drive a car or even
buy cigarettes until they are 18," she added.

But Ms. Bachelet is also facing criticism for not pushing hard enough. 

"The fact that we have a woman president is not enough to bring about the
changes we need," said Valentina Martínez of La Morada, a women's group that
runs a health center here. "Abortion needs to be decriminalized in Chile,
but there are authoritarian voices on the right and in the church that have
vetoed any kind of real debate or discussion."

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear Mr. Zalaquett's appeal of an
intermediate court's ruling permitting distribution of the pill. But some
conservative mayors are saying their religious beliefs will not allow the
pill to be distributed at public clinics in their municipalities, no matter
how the court rules.

In that case, the conflict could intensify. "We have a system of laws in
this country that applies to everybody," Dr. Barria said. "Public officials
in particular have an obligation to implement public policy, whether they
like it personally or not."