“The Pill” Kills Babies
August 01, 2004
DID YOU KNOW . . .
... that many commonly used forms of “birth control” or “contraception” can
actually cause an abortion early in a pregnancy?
IT’S TRUE!
Some methods of “family planning” should give Christians cause to reconsider.
Facts concerning the mechanisms through which most methods of “contraception”
prevent the birth of a baby are enough to establish that there are grave moral
problems that arise.
Do not be fooled into dismissing concerns over “birth control” as simply a
“Catholic issue.” It is worth noting that remarkable Church leaders like Martin
Luther, John Calvin, and John Wesley criticized practices aimed at preventing
or terminating a pregnancy.
How They Work
The average person has little knowledge of the way various birth control methods
such as the Pill, Depo Provera, Norplant, and the intrauterine device (IUD)
work. Take a moment to read some of the facts concerning the most popular methods
used to avoid having a baby.
The IUD
The Intrauterine Device, or ILD is not a contraceptive. That is, it does not
prevent fertilization, the joining of an egg and sperm, from occurring (conception).
It does nothing to disrupt ovulation, the menstrual cycle, or to thicken the
cervical mucous.
The IUD is a device which is inserted into the womb and which creates a hostile
environment by irritating and thinning the endometrium, the lining of the uterus.
Such a state of irritation leaves the uterine wall unprepared for the process
of implantation when a newly conceived baby attempts to cleave to the wall
of the uterus.
Though literature on the IUD suggests that perhaps fertilization may be prevented;
that perhaps copper in the IUD kills sperm, there is no evidence to support
the hypothesis that sperm are killed or that fertilization is prevented at all.
In fact, G.D. Searle, one company that produces the IUD, conceded early on that
the device does nothing more than prevent the unborn child from attaching to
the wall of the uterus:
“The action of the IUDs would seem to he a simple local phenomenon. That these
devices prevent nidation implantation of an already fertilized ovum has been
accepted as the most likely mechanism of action.
So, when the conceived child, driven by nature, seeks out the warmth, nutrition,
and comfort of the mother’s womb, the IUD has essentially put out an “Unwelcome”
mat.
Understanding that human life begins at conception, this intentional disruption
of the uterine environment produces an early abortion. The Unborn child, unable
to implant, starves for lack of nutrition, dies, and is sloughed off during
the next menstrual cycle.
Depo-Provera®
RU-486 is an anti-progesterone, but some birth control falls into the category
of progesterones which can be delivered orally, vaginally or by injection. A
common one is Depo-Provera (DM PA).
This drug is generally administered by injection intramuscularly (IM) every
three months. It is thought that by inhibiting the secretion of pituitary gonadotropin
DMPA acts to suppress ovulation. It also irritates and thins the lining of the
uterus, making implantation of the newly conceived person unlikely.
DMPA is recommended for use as a contraceptive by its manufacturer, Upjohn.2
Norplant®
Norplant too is a progesterone drug which is increasingly popular despite significant
risks which are associated with it.3 The drug is encased in
five or six flexible closed capsules, or rods, which are surgically implanted
beneath the skin.
Again, pregnancy is either avoided through the suppression of ovulation, or,
should ovulation occur, an irritation to the uterine wall prevents placental
implantation of the child.
The Pill
The Pill is called an oral contraceptive, implying that conception is prevented.
However, actual prevention of pregnancy is only true for two of its three mechanisms.
The three mechanisms are briefly indicated in this quote from the Physician’s
Desk Reference (PDR):
“Although the primary mechanism of this action is inhibition of ovulation,
other alterations in the genital tract, including changes in the cervical mucous
(which increase the difficulty of sperm entry into the uterus) and the endometrium
(which may reduce the likelihood of implantation) may also contribute to contraceptive
[sic] effectiveness. 4
So, to summarize, the mechanisms by which the Pill can prevent the birth of
a baby are:
- Inhibiting ovulation, and thus preventing fertilization from ever occurring.
- Thickening the cervical mucous, thereby making it more difficult for sperm
cells to travel into the uterus, and reducing the chance that fertilization
might occur.
But should there be what the medical literature refers to as a “breakthrough ovulation”
(a failure to prevent ovulation) and a resulting pregnancy (fertilization), the
Pill also performs a function similar to the IUD. The Pill too provides a chemical
mechanism which makes the uterus a hostile environment by:
- Changing the endometrium, thinning it, so that implantation does not occur.
The unborn child is aborted.
In the end, it does exactly the same work as the much publicized abortion pill,
RU-486.
This information is not new, and the disruption that causes early chemical
abortion is not limited to a few types of the Pills. With all of the oral contraceptives,
it is estimated that the abortion-causing mechanism comes into play between
2% and 10% of the time. In fact, the “mini-pills” which have no estrogen allow
ovulation to take place 40-60% of the time.5 Still, drug companies
elect to call their products “contraceptive.”
What Does This Mean?
Calling these methods “contraceptive” is deceptive. Such deception has meant
that many Christians who would not ever consider terminating a pregnancy through
one of the methods of surgical abortion are unknowingly using methods of birth
control which, at least 2% to 10% of the time, may be taking the life of a newly
conceived child.
Dr. Bogomir Kuhar, a pharmacist and expert on chemical abortion, has calculated
that combining all forms of non-surgical induced abortion – IUD, injections
like Depo- Provera. implants such as Norplant, and the Pill – between 8 and
12 million young lives are killed in the United States each year through these
chemicals and devices.6
How Should We Then Live?
Many people have wondered why the church has seemed to have so little effect
when it comes to stopping legal abortion in America. Is it possible that, knowingly
or unknowingly, “contraceptive” practices used by Christians have robbed the
Church of her moral authority to speak against abortion?
When we, as Christians declare the biblical truth that human life begins at
conception, and that we oppose abortion, we must be consistent We must not compromise
by refusing to address methods of birth control which result in an abortion.
Not only are we accountable for applying truth in our own lives, as Christian
counselors and leaders, we need to share what we know.
- We need to stop promoting the world’s view of “family planning.”
- Our pre-marital counseling should address the abortion risk inherent in
these popular methods of birth control.
- Christian couples are entitled to know that some methods of birth control
can be deadly for their unborn children.
Footnotes:
- Searle Laboratories, “For the patient: CU-7 brand of Intrauterine Copper
Contraceptive,” Chicago: C.D. Searle Co., August, 1977, Pgs. 7-9
- Physicians Desk Reference, 1996, Depo-Provera® Pg. 2417-2418
- As Cf 8/96 over 68 federal lawsuits against Norplant’s maker Wyeth-Ayerst
Laboratories, have been consolidated in Texas alone. Norplant is inked with
loss of vision, migraines, brain tumors, and are often difficult to remove
because of a tendency for the capsules to migrate in the body
- Physician’s Desk Reference, [996, see, for example, Demulen® and other Searle
birth control drugs, Pgs. 2201-2220
- David Sterns, M.D., et al., The Birth Control Game: Gambling with Life,
Pg.2, ALL publ., Stafford, 1990
- Lawrence Roberge, The Cost of Abortion, Pg. 7, FourWinds, LaGrange,GA, 1995
Posted: August 1, 2004 10:37 AM
