Follow-up: Connecticut Plan B Bill goes into effect today

Update: Bp. Lori has issued a clarification on his blog. That text available here.

Over this weekend AmP served as a nexus for Catholic debate prompted by recent news that the Connecticut Bishops Conference had reversed a long-standing policy of opposing the distribution of Plan B to rape victims in some cases and had instead decided to accept the current legislation that goes into effect today. In their statement, they claimed essentially that a lack of definitive Church teaching on the question combined with an ignorance regarding the abortifacient potential of Plan B prompted their decision.

You can find the full AmP coverage here.

The American Life League has since issued a very strong condemnation of the decision here.

News has also surfaced that there are plans in the works by a lay organization to challenge the law:

Peter Wolfgang, executive director of the Family Institute of Connecticut, said his organization hopes to challenge the new law. But the institute has not yet been able to find a plaintiff who has been harmed, such as a hospital worker who was forced to distribute the medication despite their religious convictions.

"Someone ought to rise up and do something," he said. "This is just one of the biggest pro-abortion attacks on religious liberty that we've ever seen in the state of Connecticut." [source]

LifeSiteNews suggests that Catholics should respectfully request a clarification from the Vatican:

To express concerns to the Vatican:

Pontifical Academy for Life: pav@acdlife.va

To email the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith:

Cardinal William Levada E-mail: cdf@cfaith.va

Given an average account of the situation in the media, clarification would be most welcome.

I am also working with a couple of knowledgeable contributors to produce a summary of the recent relevant medical findings on Plan B, ovulation testing, and related issues. I hope to have that posted by the end of this week. Contributions to that project are welcome, if you want to email me. Thanks for the helpful comments so far.