With mothers to protect life

One of the paradoxes of our society: Over 37,000 artificial abortions yearly and at the same time thousands of infertile women who desperately try to get pregnant. This is a brief and brisk comment of writer and former chief editor of magazine Respect, Martin Fendrych, regarding the recent legalization of an abortive pill RU-486 in the Czech republic. “We live in the society that has decided to give the priority to a free choice of women instead of protection of unborn life. And sale of this preparative makes the vision of life without ‘undesired complications'”, “without any respect for the most natural values”, say representatives of the Movement for Life, one of the biggest pro-life platforms in the country. Facts and figures. The RU-486 abortive pill was legalized in the Czech republic on 16 June 2014. Pro-life organizations are concerned that availability of this preparative will not only cause the rise of number of artificial abortions, but it might have much broader impact on the whole society. Last year, 37,400 abortions were performed in hospitals all over the country. “New possibility to ‘get rid’ of unwanted pregnancy in the safety of home, just by taking a few pills, may evoke a feeling that it’s just a simple procedure with no harmful consequences”, explains Prof. Eva Grey from St. Elisabeth University of Health and Social Work in Slovakia, where the abortives were registrated at the end of 2012 without any preceeding public or expert discussion. According to Movement for Life, this “simplified procedure of artificial abortion” – apart from deformation of responsibility for the conceived human life and threat for the health of women – causes also deformation of social understanding of responsibility and supports development of consumism and irresponsible behaviour in all areas of life, not just in regard to sexuality. Ethical point of view. About 70,000 people have signed the petition against legalization and sale of RU-486 but their voice has remained unheard. Mons. Vojtech Cikrle, president of the Council for Bioethics of the Czech Bishops’conference, points to this fact and adds that the registration of abortive pills was made despite the fact that several expert foreign magazines wrote about serious side effects of pharmacological abortion. “From ethical point of view there is no difference between chemical and mechanical abortion – in both cases it means killing of an innocent human being”, underlines the prelate. Members of the Council for Bioethics warn from artificial abortion of any kind, adding that “every human life is sacred and worth protection from the moment of conception”. Alternatives and concrete help. The practice shows that chemical abortives are not “less complicated” only for unexpectedly pregnant women but also for the gynecologists. It’s much easier to just prescribe the pills than to help women seek for other solutions of their situation. “There are possibilities that don’t include killing of the unborn baby – woman can carry it in her womb until he or she is born and given for adoption, or try to find help to bravely keep and raise the baby. This, of course, requires courage, sense of responsibility and – above all – support of family and expert help”, reads the statement of Movement for Life, headed by Radim Uchác. Speaking about concrete help, there are several organizations and institutions providing social, psychological, medical counselling to women in need. One of them with history of hundreds of solved cases in this area is Aqua Vitae free telephone line for those who are dealing with unexpected pregnancy. Movement for Life has established a net of services for pregnant women in need, handling each case individually and offering financial, material, psychological and spiritual support: “We wish that our organization would be the first choice of gynecologists when they suggest possible solutions of unexpected and perhaps unwanted pregnancy to women. We have an experience that many of them are just confused and we may help them before they make an irreversible decision that could influence their whole lives in a bad way”. Currently, the platform plans to interpellate the authorities in regard to this matter and submit the case of registration of RU-486 to the court.