A grave and sad fact

A wave of protests against an official registration and sale of the abortion pills has recently risen in Slovakia. Catholic Church, pro-life organizations, Christian politicians and various institutions have spoken aloud against the fact that two chemical preparatives, causing abortion up to the second month of a conceived child in the mother’s womb, have been registered at the end of the last year, without any public discussion within the society.Voice of the Church. "Deliberate killing of an unborn child in mother’s womb has always been and will always remain a wilful murder. That’s why recent spreading of chemical abortion preparatives containing mifepriston and misoprostol, is a grave and sad fact with extremely destructive consequences for the whole society, particularly for all persons directly involved" – with these words, Mons. Stanislav Zvolenský, president of the Bishops’conference of Slovakia, turns to the representatives of the government and state authorities in charge, asking them to cancel the registration of abortion pills in the country and to undertake steps to ensure protection of every human life after conception. Mons. Zvolenský writes about moral, cultural, health, social and economical impact of use of such preparatives. "Well-known scientific research testifies that these chemical abortion pills bring new grave risk and consequences for health and for life of a woman – mother of unborn child – who as a result of her often desperate decision becomes another direct victim of pharmacological abortion", concludes the archbishop. Absence of discussion. Disappointment and resentment have been expressed also by the representatives of pro-life movements. "I am ashamed of Slovakia. Without any discussion on political or social level we have registered a preparative, about which the experts of various fields in Czech republic have led a long-term debates. We behave like barbarians to our own nation", says vice-president of the Forum fo Life and coordinator of the Section for Culture of Life by the Bishops’conference, Marek Michalcík, expressing his deep dissapointment. "Every abortion, and chemical abortion even more, is a fatal loss not only for a child but also for a woman", adds president of the Forum for Life, Marcela Dobesová. Abortion is not a contraception. Anna Záborská MD, Christian politician and member of the European Parliament, is convinced that permission for the sale of the abortives by the State Insititute for Drug Control is "unconstitutional". She pointed to the well-known case Brüstle vs. Greenpeace and the decision of the European Court of Justice saying that the human embryo should be protected from the moment of conception. "Mifegyne is not a contraception. Under the name RU-486 it has been developed with the only aim – to cause artificial abortion and death of human embryo", explains Záborská. The spokesperson of the Ministry of Health, Zuzana Cizmáriková, stated that the abortion pills Medabon and Mifegyne have already been registered in other member states of the EU, and therefore Slovakia "had to permit their sale as well". According to Záborská, this information is not true because the Directive 2001/83/EC of the European Parliament allows the application of national legal enactments prohibiting or limiting the sale and use of the contraceptives or abortives.Irresponsibility of authorities. Gynecologists point to the risk of chemical abortion for a woman, as it brings number of possible health complications like severe pain and excessive bleeding, uteritis, or even death. The Alliance for work-free Sunday considers the registration of pharmacological abortives "irresponsible". "Through the liberalization of abortion politics, the Government allows to perform abortions not only in medical institutions but also at home. Such steps will endanger many lives and health of our women, and will contribute to unfavourable demographic development in Slovakia", add the representatives of the Alliance, appealing to the authorities to adopt measures to cancel registration and prevent the sale of the abortives in the country.