News,

A new morning-after pill, whose manufacturers claim a higher success-rate and fewer side-effects than other such pills, has been launched in Britain today. Levonelle-2 costs five pounds, contains progestogen (not oestrogen) and comprises only two tablets. Although currently available only on prescription, the Family Planning Association wants it to be sold in pharmacies. Family and Youth Concern has condemned the new pill, saying that it will encourage promiscuity and the spread of sexually-transmitted diseases. [Daily Telegraph and Metro, 2 February, 2000] SPUC has published a fact-sheet which describes the dangers of morning-after pills. Doctors have reportedly aborted septuplets because a bacterial infection was endangering the life of their mother. Mrs Ivette Zapata-Smalls of New Hampshire became pregnant after taking Pergonal, the fertility-drug, and previously refused medical advice to abort three of the children in order to improve the other four's chances of survival. [Metro, 2 February, 2000] Lord Winston, the IVF promoter, has denied that human reproduction is going to be manipulated more and more. He writes in today's Independent that people will continue to conceive conventionally and that technology is only there for when things go wrong. This bulletin is privately circulated by The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, www.spuc.org.uk, 5/6 St Matthew Street, London, United Kingdom, SW1P 2JT, +44 20 7222 3763. The reliability of the news herein is dependent on the cited sources. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the society. Please forward this bulletin to other interested parties. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send an appropriate email to information@spuc.freeserve.co.uk