Culpability of doctors in prescribing The Pill - Page 2

sastark · #41 (**permalink**) 06-26-2008, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pergamum

Me and my wife personally came to these conclusions:

--We went off The Pill due to a lack of light on the subject of whether the newer-generation pills indeed prevent implantation or not. We see the Pill as helpful for single girls in preventing other problems.

--We would not tell another person they are sinning by taking the Pill but for us we think that even a slight chance that the Pill prevents implanation of an already fertilized eggs demands that we not take any a slight chance.

--We also do not take any medications that have abortion as a possible and proven side-effect. My wife limits her malaria prevention due to this, but the Lord has blessed her with health.

--We still believe, however, that it is consistent with Biblical stewardship to be able to space your children within limits, but that a desire not to have children entirely is questionable. The concept of birth control or spacing is not per se wrong, however, and we cannot automatically condemn it. There just needs to be good reasons (besides convenience) for its practice. In general Christian families like kids but fertility cannot be linked to holiness.

--Since the Pill is questionable and IUD's prevent implantation, the options left would be the poor discontinued sponge or condoms.

--If we distributed medications, we would NOT give RU486 but we would give the Pill.

My wife and I have come to very similar conclusions as Points 1, 3, and 4 (minus the malaria medication issue). However, on point 2, I personally feel that once a woman is educated on the subject and she continues to use abortive oral contraceptives, she is sinning and willfully. I don't know that it would be my place to tell her that (better her husband or her pastor than I), but I do feel it is sinful.

sastark · #42 (**permalink**) 06-26-2008, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ColdSilverMoon

If some type of method is used (morning after pill, IUD's, etc) that intentionally prevent implantation of fertilized egg, then yes, it is murder, because it is taking a life just like abortion does. But this is not the intent of the pill, it is a rare side effect, and thus I wouldn't consider it murder.

Perhaps this is a minor semantic point, but a pill cannot have intent. The person consuming the pill does.

sastark · #43 (**permalink**) 06-26-2008, 02:32 PM

PDF - Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions? By Randy Alcorn. You can read about this PDF (it's 197 pages long) here.

And the short answer to the question is: Yes.

DavidinKnoxville · #44 (**permalink**) 06-27-2008, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ColdSilverMoon

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidinKnoxville

If you are taking the pill there are still ovulations and it is almost guaranteed that if the egg is fetilized it will not survive. These pills kill more children than they let on. There is literature and research out there that covers all this. Even if you are skeptical there is enough of an arguement there that we should not consider these methods.

Dave

Sorry my friend, but none of what you say here is valid at all. First of all, ovulation does NOT occur when on the pill - the entire purpose of the pill is to prevent ovulation. If ovulation occurs, the pill has failed. And the statement "it is almost guaranteed that if the egg is fertilized it will not survive" has no medical or scientific basis whatsoever. Please show me your scientific journal where this has been shown. Otherwise, it would be best to stick to medical facts that you know rather than making blind assertions.

And the idea that because there is an argument it might be true, and if it might be true we should not consider these methods is ridiculous. Show me the proof to back your claims and I'll believe you. Otherwise, I'm not going to hold doctors culpable for prescribing the pill just because there is an argument against it.

Ovulation does happen while on the pill. It is called "breakthrough" ovulation. When breakthrough ovulation occurs and the woman becomes pregnant the fertilized egg is destroyed in most cases.

Here is a very good article on the subject in addition to the link provided by sastark:

Birth Control Pill: Abortifacient and Contraceptive

"On March 24, 1997, I had a lengthy and enlightening talk with Richard Hill, a pharmacist who works for Ortho-McNeil's product information department. (Ortho-McNeil is one of the largest manufacturers of the Pill.) I took detailed notes.

Hill was unguarded, helpful and straightforward. He never asked me about my religious views or my beliefs about abortion. He did not couch his language to give me an answer I wanted to hear...

I asked him, "Does the Pill sometimes fail to prevent ovulation?" He said "Yes." I asked, "What happens then?" He said, "The cervical mucus slows down the sperm. And if that doesn't work, if you end up with a fertilized egg, it won't implant and grow because of the less hospitable endometrium." (Emphasis in the original)

I then asked Hill if he was certain the pill made implantation less likely. "Oh yes," he replied. I said, "So you don't think this is just a theoretical effect of the Pill?" He said the following, which I draw directly from my extensive notes of our conversation.

"Oh, no, it's not theoretical. It's observable. We know what an endometrium looks like when it's rich and most receptive to the fertilized egg. When the woman is taking the Pill, you can clearly see the difference, based both on gross appearance - as seen with the naked eye - and under a microscope. At the time when the endometrium would normally accept a fertilized egg, if a woman is taking the Pill it is much less likely to do to."