But “Plan A” is better, right?

By jason | April 6, 2006

One thing that’s often overlooked in discussions of Plan B is that it presupposes that there’s a Plan A. That plan, given the context, is another form of birth control, which usually doesn’t include abstinence. Rather, it usually means The Pill. The idea being, I guess, that if Plan A fails (or fails to be executed correctly), one can fall back to Plan B. Now, if Plan B really is as evil I’ve made it out to be, we can assume that the primary or preferred plan is a better one, right? Wrong. What most people don’t realize is that there is a strong body of evidence that shows that The Pill is actually an abortifacient. You can read an extensive discussion of the issue over at Eternal Perspectives Ministries, but I’ll highlight it for you right here.

Let’s start with a recap of how Plan B works:

Plan B^® works like a regular birth control pill. It prevents pregnancy mainly by stopping the release of an egg from the ovary, and may also prevent the fertilization of an egg (the uniting of sperm with the egg). Plan B^® may also work by preventing it from attaching to the uterus (womb). It is important to know that Plan B^® will not affect a fertilized egg already attached to the uterus; it will not affect an existing pregnancy.

Now, quoting Mr. Alcorn from the link above:

In summary, according to multiple references throughout The Physician’s Desk Reference, which articulate the research findings of all the birth control pill manufacturers, there are not one but three mechanisms of birth control pills:

1. inhibiting ovulation (the primary mechanism),
2. thickening the cervical mucus, thereby making it more difficult for sperm to travel to the egg, and
3. thinning and shriveling the lining of the uterus to the point that it is unable or less able to facilitate the implantation of the newly fertilized egg.

The first two mechanisms are contraceptive. The third is abortive.

And, just to make sure we’re not pulling things out of the air, here’s a snippet from thepill.com:

ORTHO TRI-CYCLEN LO inhibits ovulation—the most fertile stage in a woman’s cycle. Once a month, usually in mid-cycle, a mature egg is released from a woman’s ovary into the fallopian tube. Once in the tube, the egg is ready to be fertilized by a man’s sperm. While ovulation is occurring, the lining of the uterus begins to thicken in preparation to receive and nourish a fertilized egg.

If ovulation does not occur, your egg is not released, it can’t be fertilized by sperm, and you can’t get pregnant. By delivering an adequate amount of progestin and estrogen throughout your body, ORTHO TRI-CYCLEN LO stops ovulation from occurring. ORTHO TRI-CYCLEN LO also thickens the cervical mucus, making it difficult for sperm to enter the uterus, and changes the lining of the uterus to reduce the likelihood of implantation.

Also, from the Prescribing Information PDF provided by the manufacturer:

Combination oral contraceptives act by suppression of gonadotropins. Although the primary mechanism of this action is inhibition of ovulation, other alterations include changes in the cervical mucus (which increase the difficulty of sperm entry into the uterus) and the endometrium (which reduce the likelihood of implantation).

To be fair, there are those who remain unconvinced that the thinning of the edometrium elevates the pill to the level of abortifacient, as this Wikipedia article discusses briefly. It is interesting that some doctors dispute this part while the manufacturers list it as a means of efficacy. Regardless of who is in right in that debate, however, I think it is incumbent upon us that we err on the side of life. If this pill could cause an abortion, and I think that scenario is likely correct, then we should avoid it. I have a feeling that there will be many Christians who will meet children they never knew they had. Some will have been lost naturally before their parents even knew they existed, while others will have been aborted by unsuspecting parents, and what a sad day that will be.