ABC vs. Abortion

[_Abyssinia]

Some of the news reports I’ve seen as of late say that the number of abortions in the U.S. is on the decline. A few of the so-called experts suggest that this may be due to better access to artificial contraception.

So the question is, is this a good thing or a bad thing?

While both ABC and abortion are, of course, prohibited by the Church and in a perfect world, neither would exist, my take is that it is better to prevent a child in the first place rather than creating one then killing it.

Thoughts?

American Life League made a video claiming the birth control pill can act as an abortifacient:

youtube.com/watch?v=Z96eKLwnJ2s

You can see what The Center for Bioethical Reform says about other forms of birth control:

abortionno.org/birth-control

It may not be the case that some birth control ‘only’ (not taking that word lightly) prevents life, but it may, in some circumstances, act abortifacient in some way

 

[Jared2914]

I’ve never heard of this. Not to be argumentative, but is there evidence?

I don’t have any evidence to back it up offhand, but when a woman stops taking birth control, she can’t immediately have children again. It takes some time before her body is completely fertile. Many couples are not sure how long to wait after stopping birth control before having sex again. They may get pregnant while some of the drugs are still in effect. The baby can have birth defects or be stillborn. In the worst cases, the baby may form for a months before being rejected by the mother’s body. It is a very sad experience for the parents.

 

[JimG]

I don’t have any evidence to back it up offhand, but when a woman stops taking birth control, she can’t immediately have children again. It takes some time before her body is completely fertile. Many couples are not sure how long to wait after stopping birth control before having sex again. They may get pregnant while some of the drugs are still in effect. The baby can have birth defects or be stillborn. In the worst cases, the baby may form for a months before being rejected by the mother’s body. It is a very sad experience for the parents.

There is increasing anecdotal evidence that shutting down a woman’s reproductive system through her most fertile years may have the effect of making regaining fertility later more difficult. But no major studies have been done. I don’t think any of the drug manufacturer’s of chemical contraception have any interest in pursuing this line of research.

There is a great deal of evidence of the dangers of the progestins used in various contraceptives. See this article from Vanity Fair about the Nuva ring, which, despite numerous lawsuits, remains on the market, as far as I know.

This article from Crisis magazine also mentions some of these problems, but again, they have not been the subject of much formal research.