How can Connecticut Catholic hospitals administer Plan B?

[AP4Him]

“It is important to repeat that Connecticut’s Catholic hospitals do provide emergency contraception when that medication can act as a contraceptive by preventing ovulation,” the letter said. “The Catholic hospitals do not provide Plan B only when the medication would act as an abortifacient and therefore contrary to Catholic religious beliefs and moral values.”

etcatholic.com/?news=2071&menu=1462&level=1

Wait, isn’t any form of hormonal birth control not allowed, even if raped? And, PlanB also acts as an abortifacient.

How Plan B works:
go2planb.com/PDF/PlanBPI.pdf

This is a blurb on their protocol for its use:
The Connecticut protocol identifies the likely mode of Plan B operation by testing for the presence of leuteinizing hormone (LH), which, if positive, indicates that a woman has entered the LH surge of her cycle. Once a woman enters LH surge, ovulation is highly likely to occur, regardless of the administration of Plan B. LH surge is measured by a simple urine dip test. The onset of LH surge may be any-where from 12 to 24 hours prior to actual ovulation, and a positive LH test does not indicate how far into the LH surge a woman is. Nonetheless, what is clear is that a positive LH surge test negates the likelihood, previously existent, that Plan B will suppress ovulation, and its new principal mode of action is most likely that of impeding implantation.
catholictranscript.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=268&Itemid=1

In addition to preventing ovulation, it will prevent implantation of a fertilized egg! Says so in the ‘how it works’ link above. Okay, so how are they sure ovulation won’t occur? Anything is possible, even if unlikey, right? And, if it does, there is a risk that the baby will then be expelled/prevented from implanting because of Plan B’s last line of defense! And, if they are so sure ovulation will not occur, why administer it?

This makes NO sense to me. Can anyone tell me what the heak is going on here?!?!?

 

[RyanL]

Wait, isn’t any form of hormonal birth control not allowed, even if raped?
…

This makes NO sense to me. Can anyone tell me what the heak is going on here?!?!?

If the woman hasn’t ovulated, there’s no chance that conception has occurred. To intentionally act to ensure that this remains the case, i.e., that there is no conception after a rape, is not immoral since the unitive and procreative goods of the marital union have already been compromised…and that not of the victim’s own doing. It would also seem to be morally licit to receive a spermicidal treatment, provided that the treatment could not kill any newly conceived human.

If the woman HAS ovulated then conception may have occurred, and in that case PlanB would work as an abortifacient, intentionally killing an innocent human being – if this is the case, it is NEVER morally permissible to administer the drug.

The trick is in knowing whether the woman has ovulated…which is exceedingly tough to know if the woman isn’t practicing NFP and charting her ovulation cycle. Which, of course, few do.

Frankly, I think the risk is too big to take. Moreover, I think the moral philosophers of the Church are still divided on the matter.

Does that help?

God Bless,
RyanL

Update: “Ask an Apologist” answers:
Here
Here
They both contain links to more official statements.

 

[AP4Him]

If the woman hasn’t ovulated, there’s no chance that conception has occurred. To intentionally act to ensure that this remains the case, i.e., that there is no conception after a rape, is not immoral since the unitive and procreative goods of the marital union have already been compromised…and that not of the victim’s own doing. It would also seem to be morally licit to receive a spermicidal treatment, provided that the treatment could not kill any newly conceived human.

Okay, I guess this is where it gets weird for me…this seems to assume that the drug is successful in preventing ovulation, 100% of the time, if ovulation has not occurred yet. However, I don’t see how that determination can be made. In the how it works info, it seems that this is how it mainly works, but it’s last line of defense is to prevent an implanted egg should this fail…so, let’s say that you have a woman that is raped. She goes to the hospital that same day. No LH surge, so no chance of a fertlized egg. However, she has semen in her tubes, which can live for atleast 3 days. She gets the drug that day. Two days later, she ovulates, so the drug fails on that end. The semen is in her tubes, waiting to fertilize the egg, and it does just that. Then, the drug is successful in preventing implantation…

This is a very very likely scenario!!! Does the vatican know this is happening?

 

[Listener]

I believe that what you describe about giving Plan B to a Catholic woman who has been raped is Church teaching. I grew up in the 1950’s, and I can remember when I was very young, I used to read the question and answer section in Our Sunday Visitor. One week the question was, “What should a woman do if she has been raped?” The answer was that she should get herself to a doctor right away and get herself thoroughly cleaned out.

The Catholic Church has never taught that the sperm of a rapist is somehow sacred. It has no business being there. This is not a new teaching. I think that the people who hang around these forums are way more conservative than the Catholic Church has ever been.

 

[Brendan]

Okay, I guess this is where it gets weird for me…this seems to assume that the drug is successful in preventing ovulation, 100% of the time, if ovulation has not occurred yet. However, I don’t see how that determination can be made.

That can be accomplished with a blood test. It determines if ovulation has happened within the previous several days.

If ovulation has not occured, there can be no abortive effect.

 

[gam197]

That can be accomplished with a blood test. It determines if ovulation has happened within the previous several days.

What blood test is 100% effective. None. Some women ovulate twice, The catholic hospital should not be giving these pills out. This is so bad!!!

 

[AP4Him]

I totally agree and understand the bit about the sperm. It should be expelled and has no business there! That is not what concerns me. What concerns me is that this drug not only does that. It also expells a fertilized egg if it fails to prevent the fertilization. Cleaning oneself out is totally diff from taking a drug that will kill a fertilized egg.

And, as regards to certainty of ovulation. Even if the test is accurate, in regards to whether she has or will ovulate within a 24-48 hour period, what if the woman ovulates 3 or more days after, which will not show up on that test, and fertilization can still occur because there can still be semen alive inside of her tubes, waiting, and the drug will then abort this new life before it can implant. Pregnancy can occur days after intercourse, so a test that shows she has not ovulated or is not likey to ovulate within the next 48 hours does little to help imo. She can ovulate 72 hours later, and that egg can then be fertilized, and that drug can then expel that tender life.

 

[LittleRose]

Okay, I guess this is where it gets weird for me…this seems to assume that the drug is successful in preventing ovulation, 100% of the time, if ovulation has not occurred yet. However, I don’t see how that determination can be made. .

Does the vatican know this is happening?

To determine ovulation more accurately, I believe they administer a fertility test, similar to those over-the counter fertility monitor things you can get in the drug store. There is a hormone surge right around ovulation, if I remember correctly.

There would still be a disturbing level of uncertainty as to the possibility of conception, though. The hospital policy walks a dangerously fine line.

As to the Vatican, that’s not nearly as important as whether the Bishop is doing anything about this (or the head of whatever religious order runs the hospital). Bishops do have a certain level of autonomy when dealing with local issues. The Vatican would only come in if there is a serious problem with the Bishop