Morning-After Pill

EDM number 274 in 1999-00, proposed by David Atkinson on 17/01/2000.

That this House notes that the morning-after pill works by preventing the embryo from successfully implanting in the lining of the womb, and therefore is not a contraceptive; further notes that medical and scientific opinion is that life begins at fertilisation, and that the morning-after pill is therefore an abortifacient; notes with concern the health-risks associated with the morning-after pill, which include nausea, vomiting, thrombosis and ectopic pregnancy and that, if a woman in the early weeks of pregnancy takes a morning-after pill, her baby's brain could be malformed and/or the child could develop abnormalities such as heart-defects; further notes the provisions of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, as cited by Dr John Keown of Queen's College, Cambridge, in a letter to the Daily Telgraph of 30th November 1999 and elsewhere, protect nascent life before implantation; further notes that the World Medical Association's 1948 Declaration of Geneva states 'I will have the utmost respect for human life, from the time of conception; even under threat, I will not use my medical knowledge contrary to the laws of humanity'; further notes that, whether or not the morning-after pill interrupts pregnancy as defined by the law, it does interrupt pregnancy as defined by medical science, and that those who are not registered medical practioners should consequently not be expected to take responsibility for providing such treatment; and calls upon the Secretary of State for Health to restrict the availability of the morning-after pill as a matter of urgency and not to widen access thereto.

This motion has been signed by a total of 14 MPs.