Abortifacient Readily Offered to Minors

By Sara Hall, Maritime Campus Coordinator

The Canadian Pediatric Society (CPS) is encouraging doctors to advise adolescents to use the abortifacient morning-after pill as a “safe” and confidential birth control method. In the statement released by the CPS this month they claim that, “emergency contraception (EC) is an effective way to prevent an unintended or unplanned pregnancy. Teens should also be counselled that the progestin-only method is widely available without a doctor’s prescription across Canada.”  Their statement goes on to say that, “paediatricians, family physicians and advanced practice nurses should consider having EC available in their respective clinical settings to give to teens at risk for unwanted pregnancy.”

The CPS also defends the provision of emergency contraceptives to adolescents and pre-teens in a private and completely confidential manner. They even urge medical practitioners to begin discussing the availability of the drug to girls as young as twelve years old.

Alissa Golob from Campaign Life Coalition Youth called their approach “a recipe for enabling child rapists to continue sexually assaulting young girls behind their parents’ backs.

The approach of the CPS also gives these young boys and girls the false impression that they can continue having sexual intercourse without consequences and/or without their parent’s knowledge.  There is also very little information given to these minors on the side effects, such as an ectoptic pregnancy, blood clots, and the possible abortifacient effect this drug can have. Also, without parental consent, parents will be unable to give their young children appropriate counsel and support concerning this serious issue.

There are two forms of emergency contraception available in Canada.  Plan B, the recommended method of EC for teens, is a high dose of progestin.  It is used up to a few days after sexual intercourse to either prevent ovulation or to prevent a newly conceived human being from implanting in the uterus. To learn more about the Morning After Pill visit: http://www.morningafterpill.org/index.html