Get your two minutes of hate here… My favourite part:
It’s sort of a misconception in some circles that ladies who choose pregnancy termination would be interested in adoption, that’s one thing people don’t understand.
Abortion is birth control. Adoption is giving up your child and not accepting your duties as a mother. Most women are not interested in that. It’s only in a religiously-altered mind that that’s a true option.
[h/t]
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Andrea adds: Wow. That’s all I have to say at the moment.
by 
I only made it as far as the birth control statements when I started to question him. So I did a little poking, and the only “birth control” I am aware of that actually miscarries a fertilized egg is Plan B and its type. I could be wrong about this, but birth control pills stop the release of eggs period. If there are birth control pills that have abortifacient effects, then women need to be made aware of this by their doctors (as I would safely say most are unaware).
As he said, I don’t think adoption is always an option in the minds of women today. Mothers of unwanted children may not want to undergo the biological and emotional undertaking involved in having a child, not just the repercussions once the child is born. This is powerful thing to be up against for me as a ProLife person, you have to ask for that 9 months that a person simply doesn’t want to go through. We have to work to make adoption more appealing.
At least he’s right about one thing, the birth canal is not a magical causeway. A baby 30 weeks in the womb is a baby whether it’s inside or outside. “Let’s face it.” I just hope he’s not right about that train.
I will have to provide some links for this, and will look later today. Gerard Nadal is a good one for providing info like this.
It was my understanding that the pill used to be marketed to women that way, that it prevented the release of eggs, however anything I have read lately says that all birth control pills act as abortifacients, in that they change the lining of the uterus so that a fertilized egg will not implant.
What the medical profession have done is change the definitions. They now say that the pill prevents pregnancy, and they state that pregnancy begins with implantation. They conveniently have changed the terms so that women now think the fertilized egg is not the beginning of life, but only implantation begins that life.
So the terms have been changed, in order for the pill to be accepted. It still aborts the fertilized egg however, no matter how you call it.
There is a PDF document on this subject here
http://www.uffl.org/vol10/colliton10.pdf
Also Randy Alcorn, a well-known pro-life apologist and Protestant pastor, published a booklet in 1998 in which he gave the reasons for why the pill is an abortifacient and he has actually counselled couples in his ministry against using the pill for that reason. This was the first time I came across an evangelical who spoke this way and I found it very interesting, since this is what you hear usually only from Catholics.
You can find more information about Randy’s booklet on this subject here
http://www.prolife.com/BIRTHCNT.html
For many people, if the pill causes a fertilized egg not to implant but to be flushed away in the menstrual cycle, that doesn’t really bother them. Miniscule life is seen to be miniscule and the need to contracept is seen to override any scruples in this area. However, if you subscribe to the belief that life begins with conception, not with implantation, and that life is worthy of protection, then the pill is problematic.
The best evidence is usually to be found in the printed insert in the ‘pill” container. It speak of the three ways that it can work. 1. Suppression of ovulation (sterilization) 2. Adversely effecting the development of the cervical mucus, (contraception) And as a back up, effecting the lining of the uterus, thus preventing implantation. (Abortifacientere)
– Father Joseph Hattie
He recommends the following website
http://www.polycarp.org
Hmmm…now you’ve got me wondering. I had an extremely bad reaction to the pill, and thus was on the shot for a few years (both for contraception and for migraine control) before trying for our first child. After our second, I was put on the Mirena IUD. I’m having our third child in 3 days, after which I was planning to go back to the IUD. I hadn’t thought about the effects of the IUD on a fertilized egg.
Something I’ll have to research with *all* my spare time in the next 6 weeks…
Heather, when we talk about the pill as being abortifacient , we mean that it MAY be abortifacient. The primary mode of contraception with the pill is to suppress ovulation, thereby preventing conception. The fact that it changes the lining of the uterus to make it less hospitable (should conception occur) is sort of a back up.
Unfortunately, the IUD works kind of in the opposite manner. It’s main mode of birth control is to irritate the lining of the uterus so that the embryo cannot implant. (At least the copper method.) It may also change the chemistry within the uterus so that sperm don’t survive as well, but that isn’t its primary mode of action. Here’s a bit from McGill Student services:
http://www.mcgill.ca/studenthealth/information/womenshealth/contraception/iud/
I’m not sure about the Mirena IUD. The fact that it releases some progestin would make me suspect that ovulation is suppressed somewhat, but if you are still getting your period while on the Mirena, I would suggest that you are ovulating.
I’ve done a bit of googling, and lots of websites say that the IUD acts as a sperm zapper. (The presence of the IUD in the uterus causes the uterine lining to release leukocytes (white blood cells) that attack the sperm.) I’m really suspicious about this. Remember that every time a man ejaculates, 20-70 MILLION sperm are released. That is a LOT of sperm to be attacked and killed on the way to the fallopian tube. Remember also that fertilization takes place in the fallopian tube, and should any of the little soldiers get past the uterus, it’s free sailing to that egg. (The effect of the iud is local to the uterus.)
Also, a number of the websites cautioned that, should pregnancy occur, there is a high likelihood that the pregnancy is ectopic (ie. in the fallopian tube.) To me that suggests that there are a fair number of eggs being fertilized, but the embryos that survive are the ones that are outside the reach of the IUD (ie. outside the uterus).
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Heather. If you nurse your baby, remember that breastfeeding is a highly effective method of birth control for the first six months, which might give you a bit more time to research other options.
I’m SO excited for you! Three days, eh? Best of luck, and do let us know about your bundle of joy when it arrives.
There is some good reading here
http://www.polycarp.org/how_does_the_pill_work.htm
A bit about the IUD there as well.
All the best, Heather, once you are thinking about sex again, LOL, you might want to check out the Billings Method. I have one daughter who is becoming quite an expert at it, she knew her exact date of impregnation and due date, while her doctor wondered how she could know that.
My other daughter is taking her temperature and charting that way, and she is successfully nursing a baby plus using natural family planning to avoid another pregnancy. It takes some work, but one great advantage is that you get to know your own body so well, this even helps once you age and go into menopause, as I have discovered for myself.
There is a lot to be said for NFP, not the least of which is that it is definitely the safest method for you.
All the best with delivery and welcome to the new little person.
Wow, this is a lot of information. I will definitely be looking into this. I happen to know many young women on various forms of birth control who probably are NOT aware of the abortifacient effects. For many of us, abortion of a fertilized egg (a cluster of already multiplying cells called a blastocyst) is not acceptable ‘back up’ in case of conception. I myself was given Plan B by a nurse when I was 19 and never told what the medication was. She simply said, “Take this after intercourse if you’re not on birth control, just in case.” I know there is a degree of patient responsibility to find out what we’re taking, but there should also be full disclosure by medical staff.
Also Heather, nursing is NOT an effective form of birth control as Melissa had stated. I say this as my second child was a ‘surprise’, finding myself pregnant just three months after having my first daughter. I was indeed nursing at the time.
“There is a lot to be said for NFP, not the least of which is that it is definitely the safest method for you.”
In terms of reliability, it’s not the top (That slot goes to surgical means: Failure rate 0% precisely), but it can be good enough if used properly. The problem is that proper use is complicated and error-prone, so you should only use it if you are absolutly confident in your knowledge and attention. It isn’t like other means where you just have to put a condom on or take a pill – its easy to screw up.
Wow, Jennifer, I read your comment and felt the hair rise on the back of my neck. I never thought for a minute that someone might read my post, and then simply start breastfeeding and think they were practicing birth control. I think it should go without saying that everyone should do their own research from sources that they trust, and make their own conclusions. Please, please, for the love of all that is holy, do NOT take medical advice from some semi-anonymous commenter on a blog without researching his or her comments for yourself!
That being said, you can use breastfeeding to prevent conception. It is called the lactational amenorrhea method, and, any source that mentions it will acknowledge that it is a highly effective method (2% failure rate when used in the first six months.) Here is the blurb on LAM from Planned Parenthood (hardly a shrill supporter of NFP):
http://www.ippf.org/en/Resources/Guides-toolkitsLactational+amenorrhea+method.htm
However, LAM is breastfeeding to the nth degree, and therefore not for everyone. Nursing on demand, even through the night (co-sleeping with baby is ideal). No pacifiers, bottles, or other supplemental feedings. And as soon as your period returns after childbirth, LAM won’t work any more (any bleeding for the first six weeks can be disregarded, as it is post-partum lochia.) Many women feel stifled by this method, as you can’t be apart from your baby for more than a couple of hours at a time.
However, if you are the kind of woman who thrives being around her baby all the time, it doesn’t hurt to check out this method. Sources of information are La Leche League, theCouple to Couple League, or search the term “ecological breastfeeding”.
Hope this helps…
Sorry, that link didn’t work. Here it is again:
http://www.ippf.org/en/Resources/Guides-toolkits/Lactational+amenorrhea+method.htm
What about condoms? Used right they are 98 % effective, and I know several married couples who use them. Of course that doesn’t help if you have a latex allergy.