Religion Shouldn't Interfere In the Passage of Laws

So says Argentinian opposition lawmaker Alicia Tate. And a good thing, too, when you have Argentine Catholic bishops arguing that the emergency contraception pill (ECP) is an assault on human life. On the other hand, illegal abortions that kill about 1,300 women a year in Argentina and are the leading cause of maternal deaths are a veritable blessing.

One very hard to ignore fact from this very interesting article on ECP availability in Latin America [other than Reuters' continued use of the incorrect "morning-after pill" term] is that, like Europe, most of Latin America is years ahead of the U.S.:

- In Buenos Aires, public hospitals offer the emergency contraception for free, no questions asked. Argentine lawmakers are pushing to extend this service nationwide.

- The Mexican government has mandated the pill be distributed at public hospitals, while in Peru it is offered for free. Municipal health services in Brazil dispense the morning-after pill nationwide, although clinics can opt not to do so.

- Chile's first female president, Michelle Bachelet, raised hackles last year when her government required the pill be made available at no charge to girls as young as 14.