The most egregious of these was the
Here's how Emergency Contraception works:
- Emergency contraception is made of the same hormones found in birth control pills.
- The hormones in the morning after pill work by keeping a woman's ovaries from releasing eggs — ovulation. Pregnancy cannot happen if there is no egg to join with sperm. The hormones in the morning after pill also prevent pregnancy by thickening a woman's cervical mucus. The mucus blocks sperm and keeps it from joining with an egg.
- The hormones also thin the lining of the uterus. In theory, this (along with yams, pomegranate, and too much Vitamin C) could prevent pregnancy by keeping a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus.
EC reduces the chance of pregnancy by 99% if used withing 12 hours, and by 75-89% if used withing 72 hours.
If you are already pregnant, EC will not harm the fetus.
If you or someone you know finds themselves in need of EC after a sexual assault, a broken condom, or unprotected sex, look no further than the dozens of providers around St. Louis, including the Walgreens on Lindell and the Planned Parenthood on Forest Park.
Don't be one of them. Educate yourself!
11 comments:
According to your claims, as quoted, "the morning after pill thins the lining of the uterus which prevents the implantation of a fertilized egg." True: there is no pregnancy and so, strictly speaking, there is no "abortion."
Also true, however, is that a new and unique person is formed at conception, the fertilization of the egg by the sperm. Certainly we wouldn't claim that a person is formed only when the embryo is implanted in the uterus (e.g. ectopic pregnancies).
Given these two points, the morning after pill is specfically designed, among other things, to prevent the implantation of a fertilized embryo. In other words, the morning after pill is designed, in part, to detroy the newly formed person's opportunity to have any chance of a full and productive life.
If you want to claim that this is not "killing" the newly formed person, I would be quite interested in hearing your arguments.
Bonumteesse has a point - but only if you agree with the premise that a new and unique person is formed when an egg is fertilized.
There's some debate about this. Theologians and scientists have wondered, for example, if a new and unique person is formed only after the time that twinning is possible.
The issue of when life begins aside (if you don't believe that life begins at conception, you aren't Catholic), the Pill and other forms of hormonal birth control, do indeed kill.
They can kill unborn human life, yes, but they also can kill the women who use them--and this is something all of you pro-women types should care about quite a bit.
I figured you guys would have heard about this by now. Flip to any cable channel with a high proportion of women viewers these days, and between the NuvaRing commercials you can catch one of those ominous announcements calling for women who have taken Yaz, Yasmin or Ocella and suffered complications to call a 1-800 number. This is because women have DIED because of complications from hormonal birth control.
And this isn't news. Check it out:
Birth Control Patch Death:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8565177/
More Patch Problems:
http://jezebel.com/5062754/birth-control-patch-leads-to-barfing-sometimes-death
A 17-year-old in St. Louis DIED after using the patch: http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-33867170_ITM
Yaz and Yasmin are on the "Worst Pills" list and labeled "Do Not Use": http://www.worstpills.org/results.cfm?drug_id=732&x=38&y=19
Swiss Woman's Death Possibly Linked to Yasmin:
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssHealthcareNews/idUSLP63975820090925
Dangers of Plan B:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Plan-B-Dangers-Pose-an-Unknown-Threat-to-Women&id=2674244
Why would you support putting this kind of dangerous, carcinogenic substance in women's bodies?
Most of these complications typically arise from that woman's decision to smoke. There are clear warnings on packaging and in those commercials that strongly urge women who are on birth control not to smoke. My own doctor even verbally warned me, when she prescribed Yaz to me. In addition, these complications are so statistically small that is unfair to make blanket statements against hormonal birth control. While I'm not trying to argue that the deaths/complications that do arise don't matter, because it truly is unfortunate, the fact is that on a bigger scale of millions of women, it's only a dip in the bucket.
Just because you see a correlation between use of hormonal birth control and death of women, doesn't mean there is direct causation. There have been studies that show that increased sales of ice cream lead to an increase in drownings. Does this mean that we should ban the sale of ice cream? Absolutely not! The truth is that often two variables are related only because of a third variable that is not accounted for within the statistic. In this case, the weather is this third variable because as the weather gets warmer, people tend to consume more ice cream. Warmer weather also results in an increase in swimming and boating and therefore increased drownings, boating accidents, etc.
So, by simply saying that hormonal birth control methods kill women, you are completely ignoring the third variable: in this case, smoking. When some women who use hormonal birth control smoke, the estrogen in some brands "activates" what is a pre-existing condition, brought on by smoking, that then causes blood clots and sometimes (unfortunately) death. In other cases it is pre-existing conditions, such as already high blood pressure, or diabetes.
A solution to this problem is to make progestin-only medications more readily available to women, or to urge doctors to refuse to prescribe birth control to smokers, just as doctors refuse to prescribe certain anti-depressants to children, because of the associated risks. The solution is absolutely not to ban use of the Pill completely.
And in response to your "Dangers of Plan B" article... The articles says "Duramed admits on its website that the product could cause "nausea, abdominal pain, fatigue, headache, changes in one's period, dizziness, and breast tenderness." Well, just like any drug on the market, including Advil, Tylenol, Nyquil, and even Pepto Bismol, there is a potential for side effects when you take Plan B. There is virtually no drug, prescription or over-the-counter, that does not have side effects. I challenge you to find one.
Just because you don't necessarily agree with the views of pro-life people does not mean you have to be rude and cruel...you don't see them ripping apart your "propaganda"
its ok to have opposing view points, in fact its much better. but having an opposing view point does not mean ripping apart people you don't agree with...
I'd have a lot more respect for this group of it respected others itself...geesh
I really wasn't trying to be mean on cruel. I was simply stating why their arguments are a bit illogical. I think they are perfectly entitled to their opinion, but I don't think it is fair to skew facts one way or the other. If you look at my comment under the post about Planned Parenthood, you can see that. I am truly sorry if I came of as simply vicious. I just wanted the facts out there.
Cruel and rude? This writer was pointing out that these complications are caused by smoking while on the pill. He/she also outlined the difference between correlation and causation. I respect those who don't believe in birth control, but scare tactics related to birth control should be clarified.
I think we should be mourning the loss of all the babies that get flushed down the toilet in tampons and thrown out with the trash on pads, too. Some fertilized eggs never stick, you know? Maybe spontaneous abortion happens far more than elective abortion in early stages. We should be boycotting women getting their periods. Or better yet, we should have all sexually active women get their uterus scraped for potential people before each menstruation. Imagine all the potential people we'd save! Probably enough to replace that missing 1/4 of a generation...
In no way was I attempting to use "scare tactics" to stop people from using the Pill. Understating the potentially harmful side effects of the Pill is at least part of the reason Yaz was forced by the FDA to air all of those "corrective" commercials. You can't write it off and say "well all of those complications were due to smoking." Millions of women are taking these drugs for YEARS and thinking nothing of it!
It is clear to me that anyone who really cares about women's health and women's rights should be questioning a culture in which it is widely accepted that a woman should be taking potentially dangerous and otherwise body-altering drugs which are designed to suppress the normal function of her body. I'm perfectly healthy, happy, and normal just the way I am, with fertility intact, and would certainly gain nothing by mutilating my body or potentially harming my newly-conceived children during my first hours and days as a mother. Where is the justice and equality in pushing these forms of hormonal control over women's bodies, while men get sex without strings and no long-term consequences?
There is a difference between Tylenol (and any other OTC med) and the Pill or Plan B, and that difference lies in how the drugs operate. Tylenol, etc., are not hormonal meds. Most forms of contraception are. Many, many doctors have stated their concerns about the long-term effects of hormonal birth control on women--hormones alone, apart from any drastic complications. We can see how in the menopause-HRT debate doctors have gone back and forth on the safety of estrogen replacement; why should we expect birth control pills, patches, rings and shots to be any safer?
Has anyone done a real study of the long-term health and fertility of a woman who goes on the Pill in her teens and stays on it through her 20s, maybe up until she hits 30 and finally decides she wants to have kids? Not that I'm aware of. Should we be surprised at the growing rates of female *infertility* these days, after so many women spend years of their lives suppressing ovulation and the normal functioning of their reproductive systems? There is such a craze right now with going organic in every other area of our lives...and why not this one? If pesticides on our produce and growth hormones in our meat and milk can freak us out so much, why don't synthetic estrogen or progestin do the same?
Because of all the politics and ethical controversy surrounding birth control, the pill is one of the most studied drugs ever. Women have been taking it widely for decades now and there seem to be no huge complications. The pill is, relatively speaking, a very safe drug. Some studies had shown that pill users were more likely to get cervical cancer. However, this was misleading and later clarified. Because pill users are also less likely to use condoms, they are more likely to be exposed to HPV which causes cervical cancer. Additionally there was talk of the pill being linked to greater risk of breast cancer. However, it was later determined that the risk of "developing" breat cancer is not greater, but pill users may have more OB/GYN visits and thus it is more "diagnosed" in pill users. Furthermore, the pill actually reduces the risks of ovarian and endometrial cancer. Women also usually return to ovulating within a couple/few months of stopping the pill. Infertility these days may have something to do with the pill. Who knows? My bet would be that its more about lifesytle and diet though. Weight issues can mess with your natural sex hormones and vice versa (polycystic ovary syndrome anyone?) and obesity is becoming a huge problem. Also pesticides, food additives and pollution probably don't help either.
Some people because of medical history, age, etc. are not good candidates for the pill. I think these have been discussed above (no smoking, blood clots, stroke, etc.) With respect to the dangers of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), I think someone might be referring to the extensive women's study that had to be discontinued due to people having heart problems. But, these women were post-menopausal. Researchers now think that the safety of HRT depends on how long its been since menopause. Estrogen seems to have protective effects in women regarding vascular, heart health. But the body undergoes changes after menopause. The trouble came with reintroducing hormones into the body once the changes had already taken place. Starting HRT just prior to menopause or at menopause may be safer and beneficial at retaining the protective effects of estrogen. This is still to be fleshed out though I think.
Yaz and some other pills have problems of their own. As I understand it, Yaz had overmarketed their product, touting its effects of making one more of a women, clearing acne, birth control, and making it appear to be almost a desirable social status. They wanted it to appeal to a lot of women, for a lot of reason so a lot of women would be one it, recall that Yaz is rather expensive too. Yaz advertisements overstated the positives and understated the negatives. And error in marketing and greed.
Lastly, it stinks that women have to bear the responsibility of birth control. When can we develop some male hormonal contraception? The best we have are hormone-based drugs that stop ovulation. They're not perfect, and like everything else, they come with risks. But everyone has to decide for themselves. Is it worth the risk?
I'm praying for your souls, and the souls of all the unborn life you've promoted to kill.
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