Brazil to provide subsidized contraceptives

Brazilian Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao said yesterday that the government will provide discounted morning-after pills as part of an expanded medical program. Temporao argued that doing so would help reduce unplanned pregnancies amongst the country’s poor and, hence, would diminish the amount of illegal abortions.

Temporao’s tenure has been praised by some groups such as social activists and Brazil's poor. Yet at the same time he has alienated more conservative elements such as the Catholic Church and has even drawn the ire of the Pope.

Sources- CBS News, AHN, Reuters AlertNet, The Latin Americanist

Image- Canada.com