Morning after pill still abortion

The Sept. 16 Wildcat article "Health Center offers 'morning after pill'" contained two quotes on which I wanted to comment. Both concerned the increased availability of emergency contraception in the form of "morning after" pills.

Contraceptive pills "prevent" pregnancy by (1) providing true contraception (by thickening the mucous plug at the cervix and thus preventing sperm from entering), (2) inducing temporary sterilization (by preventing the release of the ovum), or (3) acting as an abortifacient (by hardening the lining of the uterus, preventing implantation of the tiny new human at about one week of life).

Regarding the first point, Rodier stated that emergency contraception "could help prevent a lot of unwanted pregnancies and a lot of ruined lives." Ruined lives? Why would a life be ruined? Have we become so selfish?

Consider the situation in which fertilization does occur and then the pill acts as an abortifacient. In order to avoid ruining our own life, we terminate the baby's life! Now there is a ruined life!

Most "unwanted pregnancies" do not lead to "ruined lives." In fact, many studies have been done on how the mother's attitude changes - becoming more positive - throughout pregnancy. For example, P. Cameron et al., in "How much do mothers love their children" (Rocky Mt. Psychological Assn., May 12, 1972), states that "it is clear that mothers who initially believed their pregnancy to be 'the worst thing that ever happened to them' came to feel about the same degree of affection for their children as the mothers who were initially 'ecstatic' about the pregnancy. Most women who were most regretful of the pregnancy now claim they would have the child again if given the opportunity."

Certainly a pregnancy will disrupt one's life, but it will not ruin it. If a mother really doesn't want the baby but is willing to bring it to term, then plenty of couples would be willing to adopt the baby.

Regarding the second point, Melillo, noting that emergency contraception would appeal to a large audience, stated that "people who wouldn't have abortions for religious reasons would be more inclined to use it." Hopefully the exact opposite is true. If one's religious beliefs indicate that having an abortion is wrong, then one should NOT be using the pill as a means of contraception because the pill, if it acts as an abortifacient, leads to the same result - an abortion.

John Sain

Optical Sciences Graduate Student