The church cannot remain silent on this issue, given the gravity of what is being proposed

Catholic bishops in Scotland

The bishops say their concern was based not just on Catholic opposition to contraception but to abortion.

They claim that in some circumstances the pill could prevent an embryo from implanting in the womb, leading to death of the embryo.

The bishops say: "In this case it is a form of early abortion. The church cannot remain silent on this issue, given the gravity of what is being proposed.

"In stating these simple facts the church is not seeking to impose its judgment on others. Rather we aim to propose for public consideration the truth about these drugs and their effects."

The bishops said the church considered the prescription, supply and consumption of "potentially abortifacient" drugs to be "gravely wrong".

"We call upon doctors, pharmacists, parents and teenagers to reflect on the reality of what is being proposed and exercise their conscientious right of objection," they added.

'Dangerous message'

They called on politicians to face questions, like what safeguards would ensure the pill was not available to under 16s and whether administration could be properly controlled.

"If our teenagers feel that they are so unimportant that we can leave this aspect of their healthcare to a 10-minute chat in a busy pharmacy, with a pharmacist who cannot carry out any physical examination, consult medical records nor discuss the issue with family members, we risk sending out a regrettable and dangerous message to a highly vulnerable group," said the bishops.

Their message ended: "We remain open to dialogue with all concerned parties about alternative ways forward in tackling the problem of unwanted teenage pregnancy, an issue which must concern all people of good will."

It is legally not a form of abortion and we need to get over this myth.

Brook Advisory spokesman

A spokesman for the Brook Advisory Centres described the bishops' statement as "not surprising but disappointing".

He said the comments were "simply not true" and insisted that emergency contraception did not have an impact on long-term sexual behaviour.

The spokesman added: "It's sad and predictable that yet again we are faced with scaremongering at a time when important steps have been made to make contraception more widely available to women.

"Brook believes that contraception should be made available to all women regardless of age or circumstances.

"This sort of statement is not helpful because emergency contraception makes a very important contribution towards reducing the rate of unwanted teenage pregnancies in the UK.

"It is legally not a form of abortion and we need to get over this myth.

"Young people must not be scared off.

"The heart of the issue is that creating a climate of fear through these kinds of messages does not open up the subject for debate."