Emergency Contraception: Catholics in favor, bishops opposed

A new briefing details how Catholic bishops continue to oppose access to emergency contraception and lead opposition efforts, going against the beliefs of the majority of their constituents.

The paper, produced by the International Consortium for Emergency Contraception and Catholics for Choice, argues:

While polls of Catholics show that they support access to emergency contraception both after rape and as a fallback contraceptive method, Catholic bishops around the world continue to oppose access.

The Vatican opposes artificial methods of contraception, although the majority of Catholics around the world support the use of contraception. In the United States (US), the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services—a set of guidelines produced by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops for healthcare providers in Catholic-sponsored facilities and which were last updated in 2009—oppose the use of all contraception including EC, except, as specified in Directive 36, following sexual assault when it can be proven that pregnancy has not occurred. This is an unnecessary restriction because EC does not interrupt an established pregnancy.

In general, however, the Catholic hierarchy around the world has opposed EC access for all women, even in cases of sexual assault, under the mistaken belief that EC can cause an abortion.

Opinion polls of Catholics in multiple settings show they often do not agree with the Catholic hierarchy’s views on EC:

• A 2008 opinion poll showed that nearly 70 percent of Chileans said they would want their daughters to take emergency contraception after unprotected sex. The vast majority of the Chilean population is Catholic.

• More than four-fifths of urban Mexican Catholics (85 percent) think hospitals and public clinics should offer emergency contraception to women who have been raped while 73 percent think it should be offered to women who have had unprotected sex.

• In Colombia, 65 percent of Catholic women believe emergency contraception should be offered by health centers and public hospitals.

• In the US, a Catholics for Choice poll found that a strong majority of American Catholic women (78 percent) prefer that their hospital offers EC for rape victims while more than half (57 percent) want their hospital to provide it in broader circumstances.

Yet in the United States and around the world, the church hierarchy has opposed EC access through public statements, involvement in legal cases, and threats to excommunicate women who use EC. This new paper outlines the issues and provides examples of Catholic hierarchy opposition, and how advocates, policymakers, and healthcare professionals are fighting back.

Emergency Contraception: Catholics in Favor, Bishops Opposed. International Consortium for Emergency Contraception and Catholics for Choice, October 2010. 

More articles on the topic of emergency contraception are archived on Abortion Review here.