Free morning-after pills blocked in Chile

SANTIAGO, Chile — Chile's highest court on Friday halted a four-month-old program that provides the morning-after pill for free to females as young as 14, citing a technicality in the way the government approved the program.

The court voted 6-4 that the program was unconstitutional because it was implemented by administrative decree rather than by presidential decree or legislation.

The government quickly responded by saying President Michelle Bachelet would issue the correct decree to comply with the court's ruling. But it dismissed the possibility of sending a bill to Congress because the program lacks a majority of support there.

The court issued its ruling, which cannot be appealed, at the request of 32 legislators from the right-wing opposition who argue the pill violates the right to life.

The morning-after pill, or Plan B, is a high dose of the most common ingredient in regular birth-control pills. When taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex, the two-pill series can lower the risk of pregnancy by up to 89 percent. It will not work on a woman who is already pregnant.

The Chilean program provided free contraceptives — including the morning-after pill — to females as young as 14 without notifying their parents. Before it was approved, the age limit was 16, and the morning-after pill was given only to women who had been raped.

The program triggered heated debate in a country considered politically liberal but socially conservative. Chile prohibits abortion in all cases, and divorce was only legalized here in 2004.

The morning-after pill became legal in Chile in 2002 after a Supreme Court battle, but the government says the price is beyond the reach of poorer women. The plan to provide free contraceptives to women went into effect in September after a challenge by conservative legislators and groups was turned down by Supreme Court.

Bachelet, a socialist pediatrician and Chile's first female president, said the free distribution of the pill at municipal health services brings equality to Chilean women.

But opponents said giving the pill to young girls without informing their parents violates the parents' right to educate their children.

The high-court ruling Friday focused narrowly on the procedure followed by the government, avoiding the thornier issues of right to life and parental rights.

Jorge Reyes, a lawyer representing the right-wing legislators, said that if Bachelet issues a presidential decree, "we will go back to the court to object to other aspects of the program that we consider unconstitutional."