Ban the morning after pill

According to themorningafterpill.org Emergency contraception (also known as the morning-after pill) is a high dosage of the birth control pill.

It is recommended to be used after sexual intercourse, over a period of 72 hours, to achieve the goal of preventing (or ending) pregnancy. There are three different ways birth control pills are currently being promoted for this use: progesterone alone, estrogen alone, or both of these artificial steroids together.

The idea of emergency contraception—or a morning-after pill—is based on a theory. Under this theory, if a woman has sexual intercourse and fears she may be pregnant, she can take large doses of birth control pills.

If in fact the woman is pregnant when she takes these birth control pills, the high dosage acts to kill her preborn child—a living human being. The only "emergency" in this case is the woman's fear of being pregnant.

According to the same source It is fascinating to watch the (orchestrated?) campaign against Wal-Mart for refusing to stock or sell a product called Preven. A recent column by Molly Ivins and a letter (July 8) by the local president of the National Organization of Women both refer to Preven as an "emergency contraceptive" and claim that it is "not an abortion pill" but rather "prevents the implantation of the fertilized egg."

Being rather skeptical, I consulted my dictionary. Contraception, as a noun, means "a contraceptive agent or device" and as an adjective, "capable of preventing conception." Contraception is also defined as "prevention of contraception." Conception occurs when sperm fertilizes an ovum, forming a zygote. The blastula stage of the embryo that implants in the wall of the uterus takes about 72 hours following conception to develop from a zygote.

So how can Preven be a contraceptive? Or is this another subversion of the language? "Emergency contraceptive" is surely more acceptable than "abortion pill," just as "termination of pregnancy" was more acceptable than "aborting an unborn child."

According to the same source Human embryology teaches that each human life begins at conception. It also defines, describes and labels the stages of development from zygote to birth.

Specifically, for about the first three months of pregnancy, from the zygote to the fetus, the developing human is called an embryo. By preventing implantation, Preven causes "a fatally premature expulsion of an embryo...from the womb" - one of my dictionary's definitions for abortion. Accordingly, Preven is an abortifacient, an "abortion pill." And that is undoubtedly the determination that Wal-Mart has made.

According to an September 18, 2006 article in The New American magazine Right to life leaders have been expressing shock, outrage, and dismay over President George Bush's August 21st announcement of support for making "Plan B," the morning after abortin pill , available over the counter, no prescription needed.

The outrage and dismay are in order, the shock is not; the Bush administration has been cynically calculating the political costs and negotiating this issue with the Hillary Clinton Planned Parenthood forces and Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. since 2004.

The New American Magazine goes on to state that the debate on immorality shifts. Now the real debate is what age is appropriate for children who are fornicating to be able to walk into a convenience store to buy a powerful morning after pill that will abort the consequences of their activities. Under the current Bush decision, kids under 18 will still need a prescription.

According to the same article in The New American Magazine Making the morning after pill more easily available will undoubtedly increase the already horrendous abortion toll in America, That is bad enough, but medical and policy experts point out that there are other harmful consequences to unleashing Plan B.

The article goes on to state that consequences are as follow Side effects: The repeated use of plan B presents serious health risks to women and even greater dangers to children who use it, risks such as massive hemorrhaging and ectopic pregnancy which is the fertilized egg being planted out side the uterus.

Death: Bill Clinton approved the prescription abortion pill, RU-486, which has been killing mothers at 10 times the rate that surgical abortion does. Plan B’s death toll for mothers, including young teens, will likely be even higher.

Disease: Plan B’s false promise of freedom will be taken by many as a prescription as promiscuity, worsening the already rampant epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases among American youth.

The article continues Is there any doubt that the Bush Plan B decision will lead in the direction of younger and younger age limits, and ultimately, the removal of age restrictions altogether?

Is this how the grocery store candy counter will look in the near future: Snickers, bubble gum, condoms, and Plan B?

I ask that everyone do their research to determine the pros and cons if you are unsure.