PLANNED PARENTHOOD SAYS VATICAN WAGING WAR ON WOMEN

ROME (CWNews.com) - The International Planned Parenthood Federation on Friday accused Pope John Paul II and the Catholic Church of waging a psychological war on women by teaching the abortion and contraception are sinful.

The letter composed by the IPPF's European network at its annual meeting in Rome last week urged the Church to change its age-old teachings on sexual and reproductive issues. "The opinion and actions of the Holy See in regard to sexual and reproductive health and rights are seen by many as a kind of war, a war that contributes to the suffering and deaths of millions of innocent people, a war not conducted with guns and fire but with condemnation and psychological terror," it said.

In contrast, the Church has consistently taught that it is abortion and contraception that both directly cause the deaths of millions of unborn children and create a "culture of death" that contribute to greater violence in society.

IPPF's letter was written partly in response to the Holy See's activity at a recent special session of the United Nations General Assembly reviewing the 1995 Beijing Women's Conference earlier this month, in which the Vatican and various Muslim and Catholic countries blocked attempts to force all countries to legalize abortion and contraception.

"We send you an urgent plea to end this war and to contribute to peace and the well-being of women, by listening to the voices of the world's women, who need access to reproductive health and respect for their right to make decisions about their lives," the letter stated. Pro-life groups contend that it is the pro-abortion and pro-contraception lobby that coerces and forces women to make decisions they would not otherwise make.

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