Bishop Rules out Post-Rape Pills in Peoria: Fear of Abortion Cited

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Fear of abortion cited, while its critics claim rule punishes victims

A Catholic hospital in Illinois is currently revising its protocol for treating rape victims, following a directive from Peoria Bishop John Myers banning the use of "morning after" pills.

Myers told the eight Catholic hospitals in his diocese that the two drugs, Estinyl and Ovral, could no longer be used because, he said, they have potential abortifacient capabilities. St. Francis Medical Center, the second-largest medical facility in the state, is the only Catholic hospital in Peoria that uses the drugs.

The fear is that the rape victim may have already been impregnated and that the drugs would not act as contraceptives but would terminate the life of a developing embryo.

"Our issue is with certain kinds of hormonal treatments which prevent ... the fertilized egg from attaching to the uterine wall," Myers said. "We believe profoundly that any medical procedure (which leads to abortion) is incorrect." St. Francis will continue to use these …