Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, LifeSiteNews.com

QUITO, April 6, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The administration of Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has approved the use of abortifacient "emergency contraception," despite his claim that the country’s new constitution would prohibit abortion.

According to the National Network of Prolife and Profamily Organizations, the Correa administration’s Minister of Health has approved the sale and use of levonogestrel, a drug that prevents a newly conceived human life from implanting in the uterine wall of the mother. The result is starvation and death.

"Mr. President of the Republic of Ecuador, keep your word to be pro-life, fire the health minister and immediately suspend the sale of these abortifacients, or the Ecuadorian people will punish you with its vote in these elections. NO TO AN ABORTIONIST AND ANTIFAMILY GOVERNMENT," the organization stated in a press release.

"We denounce this act to all pro-life and pro-family human rights organizations throughout the world, and we ask that all organizations denounce the Ecuadorian government through embassies and consulates for the death of thousands of unborn children, as well as that of women who use these abortifacients, who are injured for the rest of their lives."

The decision to approve the drug comes in the wake of the approval of a new constitution in 2008 that was denounced by pro-life groups and religious leaders for including pro-abortion language.

President Rafael Correa, whose party created the new constitution, stated repeatedly that the document does not permit abortion, and affirmed his own pro-life position, prior to the vote to ratify.

Although the constitution speaks of protecting children "from conception" it also states its section on "civil rights" that "All have the right to make free, responsible, and informed decisions regarding their reproductive health and life and to decide when and how many children to have and how often to have them."