Emergency Contraceptives

1 Pages 291 Words

Emergency contraceptives are not the same as RU-486, a form of non-surgical pregnancy termination recently approved for use in the US. EC is actually a series of high-dosage hormone pills, estrogen and progesterone, given in two doses twelve hours apart, as soon as possible after the unprotected intercourse occurred—preferably within 24 hours and no later than 72 hours. Currently, several series of pills are on the market, including Previn and Plan B, both of which have been approved for use in the US in the last two years.

There is some controversy over exactly how EC actually works. Pro-life propaganda claims that EC has three possible effects: inhibiting ovulation, altering a woman's normal menstrual cycle, or irritating the lining of the uterus so that if the first and second actions fail, and the woman does become pregnant, the "tiny baby" will die before it can actually attach to the lining of the uterus. In other words, if the third action occurs, EC would be a form of chemical abortion.

Planned Parenthood has a far different take on the situation. They state outright that EC only works by preventing ovulation, and insist that there is no evidence that EC prevents the implantation of a fertilized egg, as many pro-lifers claim. To quote, "originally that was thought to be the way it worked ... but researchers who look specifically at the way these drugs act don't think that's the way it works now. In fact, studies in rats say that the dose of hormones needed, per kilogram of body weight, to prevent implantation is far greater than the amount present in EC, which is just four ordinary birth control pills." Planned Parenthood also states that EC does nothing to affect a pregnancy that's already established....