Pro-Life Works: Plan B

May 26, 2010

Plan B- the Emergency "Contraceptive"

Eva Dedow

Summer College Intern

“Hurry!  We only have 72 hours to get Plan B!”  Perhaps you know of someone who has been in this situation.  Something went wrong.  Lucky for them there is foolproof pill that will prevent a pregnancy.  Or so they thought.

“Plan B One-Step” contains “levenorgestrel,” a synthetic hormone that is also found in some birth control pills.  The hormone works to prevent pregnancy by restricting the release of an egg from the ovary.  However, if this release has already occurred, the hormone can prevent the sperm from fertilizing the egg, or can stop the embryo from implanting in the uterus.  Plan B’s website proudly announces that, “Plan B isn’t effective if you’re already pregnant,” and “will not do anything to a fertilized egg already attached to the uterus.” 

Apparently, Plan B has decided that a pregnancy begins when the embryo implants in the uterus.  However, a human life begins at conception.  The baby’s appearance, natural abilities, and even some behaviors are already determined at fertilization.  Yet women, especially college students, are using Plan B as their back-up birth control.  They would rather spend $50 for one pill than commit an abortion.  Sadly, chemical abortions do happen with Plan B.  While the drug manufacturer (Woman's Capital Corporation, a subsidiary of Duramed Pharmaceuticals) recommends that a woman takes the pill within 72 hours after having sex, the longer a woman waits to take the pill, the greater the chance of Plan B ending the life of the embryo.  This is accomplished by thickening the uterus’s mucous lining so the embryo cannot attach.

The problem with Plan B is that it works.  The “back-up plan” lives up to its promise; the pill prevents pregnancy at all costs.  As Pro-Life advocates, we should be concerned about the consequences of Plan B, both on the woman and our society.  The woman may experience side effects such as vomiting, abdominal pain, and irregular bleeding, but the effect of on our society due to the chemical abortions caused by this pill is yet to be seen.  Pro-Lifers need to educate women and men on the true outcome of Plan B.