Spring Break
Think twice before you decide to take Plan B, end a pregnancy
Lauren Salz Columbia Daily Spectator
Issue date: 3/27/09 Section: Opinion
(U-WIRE) - One night, a student has unprotected sex. Panicked and worried about pregnancy, she rushes to the pharmacy to get Plan B. Without thinking twice, she takes the emergency "contraceptive." After all, it's not an abortion.
I surveyed my friends to see what they would do in the case of an emergency. "I would take the morning after pill," was the nearly unanimous response. When they were asked if they would have an abortion in the case of an accidental pregnancy, the general response was, "I don't know. I'd have to think about it."
Clearly, most of these students do not think that Plan B can end a pregnancy. And you can't blame them, considering where their medical information is coming from and the misnomer of emergency "contraception."
Let's Go Ask Alice (Columbia University's Health Services Q and A site).
In a post titled "Morning after pill," Alice writes:
"Also known as emergency contraception, the 'morning after pill' is a high dose of birth control pills taken within 120 hours (or five days) after unprotected intercourse to prevent pregnancy. ... Emergency contraception (EC) is not to be confused with RU-486 (mifepristone), a pill that causes medical/chemical abortion in pregnant women within 49 days from the first day of their last menstrual period."
So, there are no moral questions about taking Plan B? It is simply contraception, a way to prevent pregnancy? Not an abortion? From our friend Alice:
"If your friend had unprotected sex within the last few days, she may want to consider the morning after pill (also called Plan B). ... The morning after pill is not an abortion since this pill works to prevent pregnancy from occurring at all."
But what is the mechanism that causes this miracle pill to work? According to the Food and Drug Administration and the makers of Plan B themselves, not only can Plan B work "like a birth control pill to prevent pregnancy mainly by stopping the release of an egg from the ovary. ... It is possible that Plan B may also work by preventing fertilization of an egg (the uniting of sperm with the egg) or by preventing attachment (implantation) to the uterus (womb), which usually occurs beginning 7 days after release of an egg from the ovary."
I surveyed my friends to see what they would do in the case of an emergency. "I would take the morning after pill," was the nearly unanimous response. When they were asked if they would have an abortion in the case of an accidental pregnancy, the general response was, "I don't know. I'd have to think about it."
Clearly, most of these students do not think that Plan B can end a pregnancy. And you can't blame them, considering where their medical information is coming from and the misnomer of emergency "contraception."
Let's Go Ask Alice (Columbia University's Health Services Q and A site).
In a post titled "Morning after pill," Alice writes:
"Also known as emergency contraception, the 'morning after pill' is a high dose of birth control pills taken within 120 hours (or five days) after unprotected intercourse to prevent pregnancy. ... Emergency contraception (EC) is not to be confused with RU-486 (mifepristone), a pill that causes medical/chemical abortion in pregnant women within 49 days from the first day of their last menstrual period."
So, there are no moral questions about taking Plan B? It is simply contraception, a way to prevent pregnancy? Not an abortion? From our friend Alice:
"If your friend had unprotected sex within the last few days, she may want to consider the morning after pill (also called Plan B). ... The morning after pill is not an abortion since this pill works to prevent pregnancy from occurring at all."
But what is the mechanism that causes this miracle pill to work? According to the Food and Drug Administration and the makers of Plan B themselves, not only can Plan B work "like a birth control pill to prevent pregnancy mainly by stopping the release of an egg from the ovary. ... It is possible that Plan B may also work by preventing fertilization of an egg (the uniting of sperm with the egg) or by preventing attachment (implantation) to the uterus (womb), which usually occurs beginning 7 days after release of an egg from the ovary."
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 5
Andrew Stadler
posted 3/27/09 @ 9:43 AM MST
Why would you think that normal birth control doesn't stop the EXACT SAME THING from happening. Please do your research before writing about something you obviously know very little about. (Continued…)
Danny
posted 3/27/09 @ 4:34 PM MST
My mother had an abortion after the 23rd trimester. My brother was five when the doctor came and sucked him up with a wet/dry vac. Not a pretty sight. (Continued…)
amber
posted 3/28/09 @ 12:25 PM MST
[quote]My mother had an abortion after the 23rd trimester. My brother was five when the doctor came and sucked him up with a wet/dry vac. Not a pretty sight. (Continued…)
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