Cause and Effect Essay - Emergency Contraception Causes Abortion

Emergency Contraception Causes Abortion      Ã‚  Ã‚   Brown University associate professor of medicine, Ralph Miech, M.D., Ph.D., stated the abortive nature of EC in the Providence Journal on August 3, 1998: "This type of pill causes an abortion. From a pharmacologic perspective, this type of pill should be called an 'abortion-after pill'."    The question must be asked: "How is this contraception?" Women are being falsely led to believe that these pills are contraceptive in nature. But one of their common and intended modes of action is to prevent the development of the embryo, resulting in his or her death.    A major problem in this debate is the manipulation of terms. The FDA, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and abortion advocacy groups long ago endorsed a change in the definitions of "conception" and "pregnancy" to confuse the issue. Instead of equating conception with fertilization, and seeing a woman as pregnant if her body contains a living, developing embryo, they equate "conception" and "pregnancy" with the implantation of the embryo in the uterus 6 to 10 days later. Thus a drug or device that destroys the early embryo or disrupts its development is redefined as "contra-ceptive," even though it is abortifacient in nature.    The new Preven regimen and similar so-called "morning-after" pills, which can actually be taken several days after intercourse, are high doses of ordinary birth control pills containing estrogen and progestin, which have long been known to inhibit pregnancy. In response to years of pressure from some medical and advocacy groups, the FDA recommended six brands of oral contraceptive pills in high doses (Ovral, Lo/Ovral, Nordette, Levlen, Triphasil, and Tri... ...th the endometrium "could explain the majority of cases where pregnancies are prevented by the morning-after pill" (Wilks 154). Without implantation, which occurs about a week after fertilization, the embryo cannot develop and will die.    WORKS CITED    FDA Notice, 62 Fed. Reg. 861 [Feb. 25, 1997]).    Harper, C. and C. Ellertson. "Knowledge and Perceptions of Emergency Contraceptive Pills Among a College-Age Population: A Qualitative Approach." 27 Family Planning Perspectives 149 [July-August 1995].    Stubblefield, P. "Self-Administered Emergency Contraception -- A Second Chance." 339 New England Journal of Medicine 41 [July 2, 1998].    Wilks, J. A Consumer's Guide to the Pill and Other Drugs [1997]. Cites F. Grou and I. Rodrigues, "The morning-after pill: How long after?", 171 Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 1529-34 [1994].