Neglect of an effective birth control policy is a never-failing source of poverty which, in turn, is the parent of revolution and crime.
~ Aristotle 384 BC – 322 BC
Does this quote by the philosopher Aristotle leave you feeling shocked and saddened that we have not seen more progress in the fight for adequate birth control in over 2300 years? Contraception has always been a controversial issue, evidently. Consider the current debate over emergency contraception:
Emergency contraception, or the ‘Morning After Pill, is available via Citizens for Choice through Women’s Health Specialists in Chico and Sacramento. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, emergency postcoital contraception actually prevents ovulation from occurring in the first place. A peer-reviewed Princeton University article published by the Office of Population Research cites the same conclusion based on their research. http://ec.princeton.edu/questions/ecwork.html
Right-to-life groups such as the National Right To Life Committee (NRLC) claim that since fertilization can occur within 30 minutes of sexual intercourse, it is possible that emergency contraception actually prevents the fertilized egg from becoming an embryo. They object to emergency contraception because they feel that life begins as soon as fertilization takes place, even before the egg is implanted in the uterus. Of course, if a woman fails to ovulate, there is no fertilization whatsoever.
Websites abound with information about ‘tiny baby boys and girls’ (of course they fail to mention that these are not yet implanted, nor is the sex determined) At this stage, even if the egg has been fertilized, it is technically considered a zygote. The definition of a zygote is a ‘one-celled organism that has not yet become an embryo, nor has it been implanted’. It takes approximately two weeks for this to become an embryo.
As we discussed in a previous blog, ( in case you missed it –https://citizensforchoice.org/pro-choice–is-not-the-same-as-pro-abortion/ ) some of the so-called crisis pregnancy centers engage in a deceptive practice in which they ultrasound the embryo, ‘tap’ out a message supposedly from the embryo and claim it is talking – making such mature statements as ‘hi Mommy and Daddy’ in some sort of Fetal Morse Code. Given the comments found about ‘tiny baby boys and girls’ when referencing emergency contraception, I have to wonder if they have some way of determining sex that has thus far escaped medical science. Perhaps there is an abbreviated form of communication for the Zygote? Conceivably (pun intended) they even feel they can communicate with the unovulated egg.
It is clearly next to impossible to change the opinions of those who truly believe that emergency contraception is infanticide (their words). However, at Citizens for Choice, we feel that no matter your opinion, medical fact is incontrovertible. As a friend likes to say, ‘You are entitled to your opinion, NOT your facts’.
For more information on contraception (emergency and otherwise), please contact Citizens for Choice, www.citizensforchoice.org .
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