I’m getting a little sick and tired of hearing Emergency Contraception referred to as “Abortion Pills”.

Emergency Contraceptives are not abortion pills.  Emergency Contraception pills are for just that: emergencies.  They are not a magic bullet.  They do not guarantee that a pregnancy will not occur.  All they do is raise hormone levels to delay/prevent ovulation so that an egg is not available to be fertilized.

One possible side effect is that the elevated hormone levels from the pill might lower the chance of implantation.  Apparently at roughly the rate that breastfeeding a baby for the first few months lowers the chance that a fertilized egg might become implanted in the uterus (I have a friend who can tell you how effective breast feeding is as a method of birth control preventing implantation…as in, not really very effective at all.)

As Wikipedia says:

Emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs), are an oral drug containing high doses of the same hormones found in regular oral contraceptive pills, which, when taken after unprotected sexual intercourse, may prevent pregnancy from occurring.

Studies in rats and monkeys have shown that ECPs have no effect on pregnancy rates when taken after ovulation has already occured.^[2] When taken before ovulation occurs, ECPs prevent ovulation in 50%^[3]-80%^[4] of women, and this is the primary way in which they prevent pregnancy. If ovulation occurs despite pre-ovulatory use of EC, there may be changes in certain hormone levels such as progesterone and in the length of the woman's luteal phase.^[4] These changes are similar to those found in a woman's first few ovulatory breastfeeding cycles.^[5] Because these secondary effects might result in embryos being created, but prevented from implanting in the uterus, they have resulted in some controversy over the use of ECPs.

The phrase "morning-after pill" is a misnomer that is falling out of use due to the fact they are licensed for use up to 72 hours after sexual intercourse. Emergency contraception or "emergency contraceptive pills" is the phrase preferred by the medical community. Unlike chemical abortion, emergency contraception does not end pregnancies and will not harm a developing embryo.

So, you Christian women who don’t want to have abortions should, by extention, be aware that having sex while you are breastfeeding a baby is “abortion”.  No sex while you are breastfeeding unless you want to go to hell.  Also, you Christian doctors out there who don’t want to prescribe “abortion pills” to your patients…be sure to tell them that having sex while breastfeeding is “abortion” too.

And you Christian pharmacists, be sure to refuse to sell breast pumps and other breast-feeding materials and aids to patients unless they sign a chastity pledge to not have sex while they are breastfeeding, because you will be morally responsible for all of the resulting “abortions” if you don’t.

We MUST be thorough, after all.