Day-after pill outlawed in Argentina

The Argentine Supreme Court has banned the sale of the day-after pill, used to stop pregnancies up to 72 hours after sexual intercourse.

In a narrow majority ruling, the court ruled that the pill was a form of abortion.

The judges defined human life as beginning at the moment of fertilisation, rejecting a previous interpretation that life is created when the embryo reaches the uterus.

The day-after pill was first authorised in Argentina in 1996.

Its use is recommended by the World Health Organisation.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service