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ACT Right to Life AssociationN E W S L E T T E R |
First Quarter 2004 January - March
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Inside This Issue ..........
Beware the health risks of an over-the-counter morning-after drug.
A new morning-after pill may soon be available without a doctor's prescription, and women's health will be the loser.
The way the drug works is also being obscured in a debate where its supporters are loath to acknowledge its abortion-causing effect.
In June the National Drugs and Poisons Schedule Committee gave preliminary approval to allow over-the-counter sales in pharmacies of Levonorgestrel, marketed as Postinor-2.
Until now it has been available only with a doctor's prescription. The committee will make a final decision this week.
The issue is not whether Postinor-2 should be available. It has unfortunately been on sale in Australia for well over a year. The issue is to ensure that women know how Postinor-2 works and have access to medical advice to minimise its risks if they do use it.
The application to move Levonorgestrel from being prescription-only to being freely available over the pharmacy counter is not unexpected. Drug companies have an interest in turning a profit and less restricted access to the drug would obviously assist them to make more money.
But the interests of pharmaceutical companies are not always the interests of consumers, especially women. There are a number of public health concerns that would arise if this drug were available without prescription.
The morning-after pill is a hormonal preparation 50 times stronger than the mini pill. Prescriptions are necessary for the mini-pill and many other hormonal drugs.
Pressure for Postinor-2 to be available without a script is not because this hormonal preparation is any safer than the others. It's to ensure the drug is taken as soon after sexual intercourse as possible to be effective. This 72-hour deadline has caused some people to throw care and caution aside.
When Postinor-2 was initially approved for sale, a spokesperson for Schering said it was only to be used as an emergency contraceptive and one of the reasons it was available on prescription only was so that doctors could regulate how patients used it. The requirement for a prescription ensures a doctor can consider the woman's medical history and carry out a medical examination before making a judgment as to whether Levonorgestrel is a suitable drug for her.
The drug's own product information lists a number of contra-indications and recommends that the risk-benefit ratio (of using Postinor-2) should be assessed by the practitioner in discussion with the patient. This involves doctors undertaking a medical examination for each patient.
The manufacturer also states the drug should not be given to pregnant women. The doctor can check if the woman is already pregnant, or whether the woman suffers from a range of conditions such as unexplained vaginal bleeding or hypersensitivity to any of the ingredients of the drug.
Other drugs that a woman might be taking need consideration before Levonorgestrel can be prescribed. The prescribing information also recommends further medical consultation in the event that a woman vomits, suffers nausea or other side-effects after taking Levonorgestrel and that there be a routine medical consultation three weeks later. It is less likely women will take such precautions if their doctor is not involved in prescribing the drug.
Pharmacists have no space for consultation other than their counter, which does not make it likely that a full and frank medical history can be taken. Many women would not feel comfortable sharing intimate personal information in so public a setting.
Pharmacists also are not qualified to undertake a medical examination, so women may not receive the full information they need in order to safely take the drug. A woman's GP is more likely than a pharmacist to be able to pick up whether a woman is using the drug regularly.
Pharmacists are also unlikely, from their position behind the counter, to notice signs of sexual abuse, which might be prolonged and facilitated by easier access to Postinor-2.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that "repeated use of emergency contraceptive pills in any month can expose women to higher doses of steroids than those recommended during one cycle" and that "there may be a higher percentage of ectopic pregnancies among emergency contraceptive pill failure cases than among a normal pregnant population".
Ectopic pregnancy is a serious, potentially life-threatening condition which can jeopardise a woman's ability to conceive and have a healthy pregnancy in the future. Further, the WHO says morning-after pills "are not recommended for routine use, because of the higher possibility of failure compared to regular contraceptives and the increased risk of side-effects".
Drug manufacturer Schering says morning-after pills can prevent or delay ovulation, or inhibit implantation of the embryo. Acting against the implantation of a human embryo happens after conception. It is not a contraceptive action. Use of misleading language like the description "emergency contraception" to describe this drug threatens women's informed consent.
Women need to know this up-front so they can give their full informed consent to use the drug.
Postinor-2's supporters claim that the pill disrupts the implantation of a fertilised egg or even just an egg. These descriptions are also misleading. When an egg and sperm meet, a new human embryo is conceived. Postinor-2 can prevent the implantation of this tiny embryo, causing its death.
They also claim that until the embryo implants in a woman's uterus there is not a pregnancy and until there is a pregnancy there cannot be an abortion. Even accepting this argument, abortion is not a controversial procedure because it ends a pregnancy, but because it ends a human life. One of the actions of Postinor-2 can be to end a human embryo's life by preventing implantation.
More importantly, the convoluted arguments pursued by supporters of Postinor-2 to claim it does not cause an abortion are not the general community's understanding of abortion. The Macquarie Dictionary defines abortion as, among other things, "the arrested development of an embryo or an organ at its (more or less) early stage". Women need to be given clear information on the implications of using this drug.
Postinor-2 should not be available at all because of its abortion-causing effect. But if it is available, women should have the benefit of medical advice and not be kept in the dark about the effect of this powerful drug.
An edited version of this article was published in the Canberra Times on 9 October, 2003.
EMBRYO RESEARCH
The Human Cloning and Embryo Research Bill, introduced late last year into the ACT Legislative Assembly, would allow a wide range of human embryo research – including drug testing – resulting in the death of the embryo. Matching Australian Government legislation passed late last year, the Bill addresses the key issues of whether so-called excess human embryos can be destroyed for research and whether embryos can be cloned. “Excess” embryos would be made available for research. The Bill doesn’t ban cloning but merely places a two-year hold on the practice when a national committee will review the ban. Regardless of stage of development, every human being deserves our respect and no human being should be sacrificed for the good of another. This legislation directly counters these very important principles.
PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION BAN
In October last year the US Senate passed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. ACTRTLA president and spokesperson for the Australian Federation of Right to Life Associations, Mary Joseph, called on Australian governments to follow suit and enact their own bans. Australia has one of the world’s most prominent advocates of partial-birth abortion, Dr David Grundmann who is founder and medical director of Planned Parenthood of Australia. In 1998 Dr Grundmann said he was happy to do terminations at 26, 28, 30 weeks. These are all ages at which a premature baby can survive.
It has been another busy but fulfilling year for the Association, with many positive achievements as well as challenges in our pro-life mission. After the tragic legalisation of abortion in the ACT in 2002, it was hard to take up the struggle again, but we renewed our efforts and remembered there is still so much that we can do to make a difference for life - both locally and nationally.
POLITICS
There was most welcome news on the political front when the former ACT Chief Minister Gary Humphries (Liberal) was elected Senator for the ACT, upon the retirement of Senator Margaret Reid. We warmly congratulate Senator Humphries on his election to Federal Parliament and thank him again for his strong support of the Association and pro-life values.
We are also very blessed to have a new pro-life voice in the ACT Legislative Assembly in Mrs Jacqui Burke (Liberal), the new member for Molonglo.
"THE MYTH OF THE PERFECT PERSON"
We were delighted last year to publish our new book The Myth of the Perfect Person, a collection of talks on bioethical issues that were presented at our Federation Conference in Canberra in 2001. This project reflects one of our most important goals, to develop pro-life resources that will help people of all ages to engage in community debate and the political process on life issues.
The theme of the book is valuing the lives of all human beings, particularly children and adults with disabilities, and we hope that it will be a positive contribution to the public debate about IVF, pre-natal testing, embryonic stem cell research, abortion and euthanasia.
BRIAN JOHNSTON VISIT
In August, we welcomed US pro-life speaker Brian Johnston to Canberra for a special visit to raise awareness about assisted suicide and euthanasia. Brian is the California Commissioner on Aging and Western Regional Director of the National Right to Life Committee. Brian's visit was a great success and we look forward to seeing him in Australia again.
ABORTION
The Association commemorated the 1st anniversary of the passing of the Berry Bills (21 August, 2002) with a special Mass to pray for women and children who are victims of abortion. Special thanks to Bishop Aloysius Morgan, who offered the Mass at St Christopher's Cathedral.
There were positive signs of a change in the law regarding unborn children. In the ACT, one of our dedicated pro-life MLAs, Steve Pratt, introduced a bill to protect unborn victims of violence, to cover situations where an unborn child is killed as a result of violence against the pregnant woman. NSW is also moving in this direction, with "Byron's Law", named after an unborn baby boy who died tragically following a road rage incident. We look forward to supporting Mr Pratt and other pro-life law-makers in their deeply important work.
We have been very active in opposing moves to make the abortifacient morning-after pill, Postinor-2, available over the counter in pharmacies. The drug can not only cause the deaths of embryonic children but has serious risks for women's health and fertility. Sadly, the National Drugs and Poisons Schedule Committee has recently given its approval to the application and the drug has been available over-the-counter since 01 January. We will continue to write and speak out about the morning-after pill, to educate people about its true effects.
PROTECTION OF HUMAN EMBRYOS
The Association lobbied strongly against the embryonic stem-cell legislation in Federal Parliament, which would legalise the destruction of so-called "spare" embryos, in order to extract stem cells for research. Sadly, the Research Involving Embryos Act was passed in December 2002, but we are continuing our efforts in the next stage of lobbying the State and Territory governments.
EUTHANASIA/ASSISTED SUICIDE
Dr Philip Nitschke kept up his disturbing suicide promotion activities this year, but our opposition to him received good coverage in the media. We will continue to challenge his activities and emphasise the positive alternatives of palliative care and better social and emotional support for people who are vulnerable and struggling with suicidal feelings.
FEDERATION MEDIA ROLE
We continued with our role as spokesperson for the Australian Federation of Right to Life Associations and received much coverage on life issues, locally and nationally, in newspapers, radio and on the Internet, including AAP, ABC, BBC World, The Canberra Times and The Courier Mail. It has been very rewarding to share the pro-life message with people in this way, and we've been greatly encouraged by the interest and openness that many journalists have shown towards the pro-life perspective.
RESPECT LIFE SUNDAY
The third "Respect Life Sunday" was held on 18 May, the Sunday after Mother's Day. This special occasion was celebrated by local churches, and we hope that its observance will continue to grow.
PREGNANCY SUPPORT
We would like to thank our members for their generous response to the special fundraising appeal of Karinya House for Mothers and Babies. Recognizing their special and important pro-life work, the Association donated $10,000 to Karinya House - part of money we received from a bequest. We are thrilled that, due to increased demand, Karinya will be expanding their services even more to help women in crisis pregnancies, and we wish them every success.
RIP: BISHOP GEOFFREY MAYNE
In September, Bishop Geoffrey Mayne of the Military Ordinariate of Australia passed away. Bishop Mayne was a long-time dedicated supporter of the Association. We will remember him always for his courageous leadership and love for human life.
THANK YOU
I would like to thank all the wonderful members of the Council who have so generously given their time and talents for another year in the service of life: Maureen Adam, Kevin Cains, Bev Cains, Jacqueline Donohue, Anne Hartwell, Paul Monagle, Daniel Pask, Nicola Sheehan, Jeremy Stuparich, Kath Woolf.
Our heartfelt thanks go to Executive Director, Jeremy Stuparich, for his always superb work in guiding and directing the Association and helping us to be a strong public voice for vulnerable human life.
Special thanks, too, to Kevin Cains, our Treasurer, who does a fantastic job managing the finances of the Association, and to Jacqueline Donohue, for her wonderful management of the office.
It is a great honour to be asked to be president for another year and I look forward to your support in 2004. Thank you so much for everything that you do for life! Your support truly makes our work possible.
Mary Joseph
President
The Human Rights Bill 2003 was introduced into the ACT Legislative Assembly on 18 November last year by the Stanhope Government and is expected to be debated sometime this year. The proposed Bill of Rights contains a clause attempting to exclude children from the right to life until they are born – an express violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international covenants to which Australia is bound. We will be working hard to challenge this shocking legislation and will update you on the situation as it develops.