FACT #7: The Morning-After Pill (Plan B) does NOT CAUSE ABORTION

Recently in our mailboxes we received a copy of "iCare," an anti-abortion propaganda newsletter published by the Human Life Alliance and distributed at SLU by Students for Life. Aside from the cheesy stock photos of forlorn, attractive and ethnically diverse young women scattered throughout the pages, I was not surprised at all shocked to see several instances of hogwash medically incorrect information presented as fact.

The most egregious of these was the lie claim that the Morning-After Pill (Plan B) causes abortion. This is patently false, untrue, medically inaccurate, etc. Also known as Emergency Contraception (EC), Plan B prevents pregnancy from occurring in the first place. In fact, taking EC during an current/existing pregnancy will have no adverse affects. Emergency Contraception is also routinely given to rape victims at hospitals (but not at SLU hospital, hmm) to prevent victims from being re-traumatized with an unplanned pregnancy. Plan B is often confused with RU-486, a pill taken under doctor's supervision that does induce abortion during the first trimester.

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.

Once an egg is attached, EC has no effect. EC prevents a pregnancy--it does not end one.
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!

FACT #2: Worldwide, sixteen women die every hour from unsafe abortion

Yeah. That's right. Sixteen women every hour. (World Heath Organization)

Restrictive government laws on abortion often force the practice underground, contributing to the morbidity and mortality rates associated with unsafe abortion.

Is this the vision Students for Life has for America?

In 1996, the Panamerican Health Organization revealed that abortion is the primary cause of maternal death in:

• Argentina
• Chile
• Guatemala
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Peru

Abortion is the second leading cause of maternal mortality in Costa Rica, and the third in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua. Thankfully, in the United States women still have the right to the full range of legal and safe reproductive choices.

Think it through. Educate yourself & get the facts now.

FACT #1: Condoms prevent abortion

3,500 condoms could have prevented the 3,500 abortions that take place each day.
Contraception is key to reducing the unplanned pregnancies that lead to abortion.

Why does Students For Life only present one side?

• Condoms are 98% effective at preventing pregnancy
• With consistent use, less than 1 out of 100 women on the Pill get pregnant each year
  
• 97% of sexually active Catholic women have used contraception
• Married Catholic women who attend church 1+ times a week are as likely (88%) to
  use a form of contraception that is prohibited as those who attend services less frequently (88%).

Students have a right to the whole truth.

Get the facts:
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/birth-control-4211.htm
http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/topics/contraception/keypubs.asp