Birth Control

November 19, 2008

#26

funkystuf31 wrote:

I would agree with the idea that birth control is a matter between a couple and their priest.

\". What happens is that the fertilized egg is unable to attach to the uterine wall, and because of this it dies. Some pills are meant to trick you into thinking you are pregnant by keeping you hormones elevated at the state they are when you are pregnant.\"

Yes, they do that, which is how it prevents pregnancy. However, \"the pill\" (i.e., what is commonly described as the \"birth control pill\") is not abortifaciant, nor does it trick the body into rejecting the egg and not allowing it to attach to the uterine wall. Indeed, even the \"morning after pill\" does not do this; it prevents fertilization from taking place. What you're thinking of with regards to the pill that keeps the egg from attaching to the wall is something completely different, at least in my knowledge. This pill, I believe, is usually taken 3-14 days after conception, which is why the Church is opposed to it. But so far as the morning after pill is concerned, if it isn't abortifacient, I see no real moral issue with it. But that's just a personal opinion.

Yes, I agree, abortion cannot be blessed in any way, shape, or form. The Fathers are pretty clear on that.

You need to differentiate between primary mechanisms and secondary ones. For example, here is an excerpt from the package insert for Ortho TriCyclen:

\\"Combination oral contraceptives act by suppression of gonadotropins. Although the primary mechanism

of this action is inhibition of ovulation, other alterations include changes in the cervical mucus (which

increase the difficulty of sperm entry into the uterus) and the endometrium (which reduce the likelihood

of implantation).\\"

So, while the primary method is the prevention of ovulation, secondarily it can prevent implantation - hence it is an abortifacient in some cases. You would have no way of knowing which one - except that the odds would be that it simply prevented ovulation.

The morning after pill, or plan B, has the following information in their patient brochure:

\\"Plan B® contains a dose of the hormone levonorgestrel that is

higher than in a single birth control pill. Levonorgestrel has been

used in birth control pills for over 35 years. Plan B® works like a birth

control pill to prevent pregnancy mainly by stopping the release of

an egg from the ovary. It is possible that Plan B® may also work by

preventing fertilization of an egg (the uniting of sperm with the egg)

or by preventing attachment (implantation) to the uterus (womb),

which usually occurs beginning 7 days after release of an egg

from the ovary. Plan B® will not do anything to a fertilized egg

already attached to the uterus. The pregnancy will continue.\\"