Why are so many comparing the morning after pill to abortion?

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   peeplesposted 10 years ago

   It bothers me that so many parents are uninformed about basic contraception. Why are so many comparing the morning after pill to an abortion? Do they not understand what the pill is or do they know and just ignore the facts?
   ""This is a thinly-veiled attempt to get an abortion drug over-the-counter," said Dr. Donna Harrison, president of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists."
   "“This decision allows the abortion industry to gamble with young girls’ health"
   “Teen girls need parents, not unfettered access to abortion-inducing drugs,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List

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      wildernessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Could be ignorance.  Somewhere, years ago, I picked up the "fact" that the morning after pill prevented a fertilized egg from implanting on the uterine wall.  That's abortion.
      
      Now I'm seeing that "plan B", if that is now the word for morning after pill, is mostly spermicide; it primarily prevents egg and sperm from meeting.  That's not abortion.
      
      So...which is true?  Was my early information a lie, or maybe just wrong?  Is what I'm seeing now a lie put out by the pro-choice folks?  Or true?

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         peeplesposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Actually there is an abortion pill that basically "drops" the fertilized egg away from the wall. Then there is the plan B or the morning after pill which prevents fertilization before it ever happens. Maybe people are just uninformed.

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            wildernessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Well, I obviously am, and suspect that many others are as well.  Birth control isn't something I've looked at in detail for many, many years and I imagine that many that do don't really dig into how their chosen method works.
            
            The inevitable result is ignorance, just as it is for me.

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      gmwilliamsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Any logically thinking person knows that the after morning pill is not equivalent to abortion.   I was taught in my high school that it takes 72 hours to conceive.   In my high school, we discussed the benefits of birth control, including morning after contraception.  I think people NEED to be educated regarding contraceptive methods.   
      
      This ignorance explains that of all the industrialized countries, the United States lead in unplanned teenage pregnancies.   In addition to that, many pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, even among married women.   Something have to give here.   Let's be responsible and intelligent regarding our reproductive destinies.  Yes, there are some people who equate any form of contraception with abortion; however, they are not educated in terms of reproductive anatomy and/or have received their education from atavistic religious and/or moralistic parents and religious authorities.

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   Uninvited Writerposted 10 years ago

   I know, it is ridiculous. It's just a matter of time before they also start calling taking birth control abortion (I'm sure some already do).

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      peeplesposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      That's my fear. At what point are they going to start trying to take all rights to any birth control away?

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         gmwilliamsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Women have to protest and fight for their reproductive freedom.   I, for one, refuse to see our hard fought and earned rights to contraception and abortion taken away.   Each pregnancy should be planned and wanted.   No girl should be forced to endure an unwanted pregnancy and no woman should be forced to have more children than she wants and can adequately take care off. 
         
         Many of our great grandmothers and great great grandmothers had large to very large families because there was LITTLE or NO ACCESS to contraception.   They were overwhelmed by their large and very large families.  They viewed children more as burdens than as joys.   No woman should have to endure that.   More and more women have to be politicized regarding the reproductive issue.   Get other women involved in your neighbor and form a group and write to your senator, congressperson, and other government official DEMANDING your right to contraception and abortion. 
         
         Women, DON'T BE PASSIVE, BECOME PROACTIVE regarding YOUR right to control your reproductive destiny.   That is what the CONSERVATIVES, both Democratic and Republicans, want to control women's sexuality as obviously this issue threatens them in the highest degree.    This is the American Taliban in action.   March, sign petition, and BE VOCAL.   Don't TAKE THIS lying down.   America has a separation of church and state, it is NOT and WILL NEVER be a  narrow minded and bigoted theocracy.

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      prettydarkhorseposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Yep, for many IUD is abortifacient just because it prevents fertilized egg (zygote) from implantation in the uterus.
      The question about when does life begins is a recurring issue.

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   psycheskinnerposted 10 years ago

   The morning after pill is a post conception (sperm penetrated egg) method.  So it is different from a hormone pill that prevents ovulation and so prevent conception.  This difference is morally significant to some people.

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      peeplesposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Actually many morning after pills contain the same hormones that are in regular birth control. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_contraception
      
      Levonorgestrel is the main ingredient in the Plan B pill sold in the USA. It's the same synthetic hormone used in implants and daily birth control pills.

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         psycheskinnerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I am not saying one had hormones and the other doesn't.  I am saying one is preconception and the other is post-conception.

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            wildernessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Now I'm all confused again.  Any post-conception abortion will (correctly) be considered murder IF human life begins at conception, and removing a zygote from the body is certainly an abortion whether it is implanted in the uterine wall or not.
            
            Peeples says it is pre, you say it's post.  If I thought that a zygote was human I'd have to research it myself.
            
            Certainly points out why some people think the morning after pill is abortion doesn't it?

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               peeplesposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               It is prefertilization. "The morning-after pill contains a higher dose of the female progestin hormone that is in regular birth control pills. Taking it within 72 hours of rape, condom failure or just forgetting regular contraception can cut the chances of pregnancy by up to 89 percent. But it works best within the first 24 hours.
               
               If a woman already is pregnant, the pill has no effect. It prevents ovulation or fertilization of an egg.
               Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/04 … edtI"
               
               "Myth: Emergency birth control pills cause abortion.
               
               Fact: Emergency birth control pills are not the same as the abortion pill and do not cause abortion. Emergency birth control pills will not affect an existing pregnancy. Important medical associations agree that you are not pregnant until a fertilized egg implants itself in the wall of your uterus. Emergency birth control pills cannot cause abortion because they prevent fertilization and have no effect on an implanted egg."
               http://www.morningafterinfo.org/facts/mythsfacts.php

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                  wildernessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  Both links indicate that this pill may prevent a fertilized egg from implantation.  If that is the case, and IF one considers human life to begin at conception that I would have to view that as abortion regardless of medical definitions saying that pregnancy does not start until after implantation.
                  
                  While I do not agree that a fertilized egg is a person I can fully understand why some people would claim that the pill is an abortion.  Denying that "person" (fertilized egg) the necessary steps to grow is really no different than removing it after it is implanted.  It is all a matter of definition, and everyone seems to have a different one.

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         prettydarkhorseposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Some abused the oral contraceptive pills because it was proven that when it is taken in multiple amount and succession it becomes abortifacient, so it make sense that they have the same active ingredients.
         
         I think one issue with the morning after pill is that the woman is not sure whether she is already pregnant after the morning or within three days. And science can't ascertain positive pregnancy in just three days. It is taken as a precautionary contraceptive and should not be taken as a regular contraceptive.
         
         Perhaps when women are more educated, then they will know their ovulation days and have the will to tell the man to use condom instead. Condom is preferred because it prevents STD and HIV/AIDS.

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            peeplesposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            You said the key. Education. I don't understand that either. It seems many say sex ed shouldn't be taught in schools yet the parents refuse. How are the children (sad to say but if they are going to do it I'd hope they'd be safe.) suppose to learn how to be safe if no one is teaching them?

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               prettydarkhorseposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Right. Teaching the students about sex ed must include not only safe sex but how to empower themselves to have greater self value and learning to say no.

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   psycheskinnerposted 10 years ago

   It is not just spontaneous sex without protection that plan B is for, but also if a condom breaks or a woman is assaulted.

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      prettydarkhorseposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      That make sense.
      
      Including rough sex perhaps when condom is broken

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         gmwilliamsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         There should be regular contraception, after morning contraception, and abortion.   These reproductive technologies are hallmarks of an advanced and progressive society.   Women have the right to all three if need be.

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            prettydarkhorseposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            I like Obama's stand about the morning after pill, it should not be given to adolescents under 17 without parental supervision, not over the counter unlike what the federal judge ruled on yesterday or the other day I think.

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               Credence2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

               I sympathize with your position and I held that view for a while, but the problem being how many other drugs and nostrums are available over the counter with no age restriction.? What about the universal existence of condoms, but then again why is viagra available only under prescription?

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                  psycheskinnerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  Because the criteria is toxicity.

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                  prettydarkhorseposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  Perhaps we as a society prioritize issues surrounding high mortality due to our lifestyle rather than those surrounding morality issues.
                  
                  
                  
                  Condom is good for the prevention of STDs and as a contraceptive.
                  
                  Viagra is risky when taken with other medicines, there are lots of precautions when you take it. You might prolong erection for four hours and more They might die if that is the case.

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                     Credence2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

                     Yeah, I guess there is a problem if all the blood circulates away from one head in favor of the other?????

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                        IzzyMposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                        Isn't that normal when it comes to men?

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                           Credence2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

                           I resemble that remark (LMAO)!

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                              IzzyMposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                              LOL

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   Marquisposted 10 years ago

   Things like this is what venereal diseases are for.

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      peeplesposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Why do you even reply to threads when your replies are typically no longer than one sentence and usually make no sense?

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   psycheskinnerposted 10 years ago

   That argument is based on the idea that there is no pregnancy until the fertilized egg attaches to the womb. Which is true.
   
   But others would quite rationally argue that something becomes abortion after fertilization, not after pregnancy.

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   IzzyMposted 10 years ago

   I can't believe there are so many people ignorant of how contraception works, when all the information today is freely available.
   
   Of course the morning after pill is an abortificant. That is the whole point of it.
   
   When they say it does not cause abortions, that is directed towards people who are already pregnant.
   
   It cannot work for them if they are looking for a cheap and easy way to get rid of an unwanted fetus.
   
   But if you might just have a fertilized egg in there, the morning after pill will stop it embedding in the womb.
   
   When does life begin? At conception or after the zygote has embedded? That is the question, depending on what you choose to believe.

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