UNITED NATIONS -- Chile's President Michelle Bachelet said Thursday her decision to allow the government to distribute free morning-after contraception pills to girls as young as 14 was a matter of ''equality'' within Chilean society.

''Equality means that for a person who does not have choices, who does not have options, we have to give them these options,'' Bachelet told The Associated Press in an interview on the sidelines at the United Nations General Assembly.

The Chilean government's decision in early September to begin offering the morning-after pill free of charge in public health clinics triggered sharp criticism from the Catholic Church -- long one of Chile's most powerful institutions -- and the conservative political opposition.