Morning After Pill in the case of Rape

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Philosophymasta said:
Hi,

What is the official Catholic position on the issue of administering the Morning After Pill to a woman who has been raped?

Sources:
catholicinsight.com/online/bioethics/mornpill.shtml
ncbcenter.org/FrTad_MSOOB_29.asp

It seems to me that both links make it say that it is OK, provided certain circumstances.

Thanks.

God Bless,
Mateusz
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The issue is still not settled. There is very little, if any direct evidence that shows the morning after pill causes an abortion and there is a mounting pile of evidence that it does not. The only thing to do is sit back and wait and see how the issue is settled.
 
Tosk said:
The issue is still not settled. There is very little, if any direct evidence that shows the morning after pill causes an abortion and there is a mounting pile of evidence that it does not. The only thing to do is sit back and wait and see how the issue is settled.
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**Wrong, if there is any chance of the pill causing an abortion, don’t use it!

Sitting back and waiting to see will be too late for those aborted (Murdered!)

**

While all rape is deplorable and an unacceptable evil, causing a woman to abort a baby without her knowledge and consent, especially if she is morally against abortion as all Catholics are, would cause a second horrible tragedy.

Read more at the National Catholic Bioethics Center (ncbcenter.org/FrTad_MSOOB_29.asp)

Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, Ora Pro Nobis Peccatoribus!

mark
 
Mark77 said:
Wrong, if there is any chance of the pill causing an abortion, don’t use it!

Sitting back and waiting to see will be too late for those aborted (Murdered!)
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Well, a women wouldn’t be able to use any medication or even drink a cup of coffee if you had to show beyond every shadow of a doubt that something doesn’t cause an abortion before you could use it. Medical evidence is mounting that there is no danger in causing an abortion with Plan B. There will never be enough evidence to show beyond every shadow of a doubt, but there never is with anything in real life.
 
Tosk said:
Well, a women wouldn’t be able to use any medication or even drink a cup of coffee if you had to show beyond every shadow of a doubt that something doesn’t cause an abortion before you could use it. Medical evidence is mounting that there is no danger in causing an abortion with Plan B. There will never be enough evidence to show beyond every shadow of a doubt, but there never is with anything in real life.
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Please tell us how they thing Plan B works then?

I does not stop the sperm from getting into the egg. My understanding is that it stops the fertilized egg from implanting into the uterus. If that is correct then it is an abortion of sorts as it is using an artificial means to stop a fertilized egg from doing what is natural.
 
ByzCath said:
Please tell us how they thing Plan B works then?

I does not stop the sperm from getting into the egg. My understanding is that it stops the fertilized egg from implanting into the uterus. If that is correct then it is an abortion of sorts as it is using an artificial means to stop a fertilized egg from doing what is natural.
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No, it works by preventing ovulation and thickening the cervical mucus.
 
So then it prevents ovulation so that fertilization cannot occur, but if for some reason ovulation doesn’t work, Plan B has a Plan B and it does not allow the fertilized egg to implant, causing an abortion. So the desired result does not cause an abortion, but if the desired result is not achieved, it can cause an abortion.
 
One is never to be put to death for the crime of their father.
 
AdriannaJean said:
So then it prevents ovulation so that fertilization cannot occur, but if for some reason ovulation doesn’t work, Plan B has a Plan B and it does not allow the fertilized egg to implant, causing an abortion. So the desired result does not cause an abortion, but if the desired result is not achieved, it can cause an abortion.
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Here is a good article that explains how Plan B works.
ec.princeton.edu/questions/MOA.pdf#search=%22princeton%20mechanism%20emergency%20contraception%22

Notice that there is no secondary effect on implantation and more than likely the progesterone in Plan B actually helps, not inhibits, a fertilized egg from implanting. From what I understand it isn’t conclusive so, like I said, more evidence will be needed before anything final is decided.
 
Tosk said:
Here is a good article that explains how Plan B works.
ec.princeton.edu/questions/MOA.pdf#search=%22princeton%20mechanism%20emergency%20contraception%22

Notice that there is no secondary effect on implantation and more than likely the progesterone in Plan B actually helps, not inhibits, a fertilized egg from implanting. From what I understand it isn’t conclusive so, like I said, more evidence will be needed before anything final is decided.
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You are correct, ( I cannot open your link, I’ll read it later). The easy way to say it is no abortions documented ever. Same is also true of oral contraception. The reason is research estimates vary but usually conclude that 50-75% of all fertilized eggs are lost naturally. Similarly babies are born to mothers on oral contraceptives so implantation does occur. So does implantation occur more often or less often? No one knows.
 
jemfinch said:
Thickening cervical mucus is a way of stopping sperm from getting to the egg.

Jeremy
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not if they are already past the cervix, which by the time a woman could get the pill and have its effects start would be very likely.

even if this pill doesnt cause abortions, which it can, it is a form of abc something the church is clearly against when used for its intended purpose. if we can support the use of this in rape should we round up the children who resulted from rape before it was available and give their mothers a free pass to shoot them?
 
Nobody here wants to shoot anybody.

Plan B is licit to use if the woman has not yet ovulated. She is not obligated to let rape be procreative. Obviously it isn’t unitive, either.

There are tests to show whether or not ovulation has occurred, or how close a woman may be. If she hasn’t ovulated, Plan B can delay ovulation long enough that the sperm die before they could fertilize anything. If she ovulated more than a couple days ago, it’s too late for pregnancy, anyway. If she is within that narrow window, we can’t use Plan B because we don’t know whether fertilization has actually occurred, and Plan B couldn’t work fast enough to prevent fertilization without also perhaps detroying an already fertilized fetus.

Once the baby is there, it cannot be directly killed. If we aren’t sure, we have to play it safe for the baby’s sake.

I wish we acknowledged as a society that removing the baby from the equation does not do much for the healing of the woman who was raped. She needs so much more from us, and yet society seems to think she should be okay if we can “protect” her in that way. What a shabby substitute for real love.
 
aggiecatholic05 said:
not if they are already past the cervix, which by the time a woman could get the pill and have its effects start would be very likely.
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That’s possible, but it’s also possible that the sperm hadn’t yet passed the cervix, in which case thickening the cervical mucus would impede them in their travels.
even if this pill doesnt cause abortions, which it can, it is a form of abc something the church is clearly against when used for its intended purpose.
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The Church’s restriction on artificial contraception only applies to consensual sex, not to rape.
if we can support the use of this in rape should we round up the children who resulted from rape before it was available and give their mothers a free pass to shoot them?
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Don’t make a slippery slope where none exists.

Jeremy
 
BobCatholic said:
One is never to be put to death for the crime of their father.
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Amen! If you hadnt said it I would have. It is not the childs fault how they are conceived therefor abortion by any means is not allowed due to poor, or horrible, circumstances of conception.
 
jemfinch said:
The Church’s restriction on artificial contraception only applies to consensual sex, not to rape.
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This is untrue, unless you can show proof of this by using actual Church documents.
 
Tosk said:
Notice that there is no secondary effect on implantation and more than likely the progesterone in Plan B actually helps, not inhibits, a fertilized egg from implanting. From what I understand it isn’t conclusive so, like I said, more evidence will be needed before anything final is decided.
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Here’s a direct link to the prescribing information from Plan B’s own website. It indicates that the 1st mode of action is to inhibit/prevent ovulation. However, it indicates that its secondary mode of action is to inhibit/prevent implantation. This latter effect, if you believe as the Church teaches, is abortive. When egg & sperm join (fertilization) prior to implantation, a new human life has begun. To inhibit this new life’s implantation is the same as intentionally killing it since it cannot live w/o nourishment from the uterus/woman.
 
jemfinch said:
Don’t make a slippery slope where none exists.
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pal i think its hard to take that serious. how can i be making the slope when we’re already halfway down the mountain.

this isnt about choice or protecting/helping rape victims. this pill is the work of evil designed to make a tiny tiny crack. when we justify this we justify the possiblity however small that an abortion may happen, that contraception is ok sometimes. most of society is already barrelling down that path and thinking those of us on sure footing our the fools. all it takes is 1, just 1 instance where we would approve of direct abortion and we have lost.
 
ByzCath said:
This is untrue, unless you can show proof of this by using actual Church documents.
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U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services,” fourth edition, directive No. 36

“Compassionate and understanding care should be given to a person who is the victim of sexual assault. Health care providers should cooperate with law enforcement officials and offer the person psychological and spiritual support as well as accurate medical information. A female who has been raped should be able to defend herself against a potential conception from the sexual assault. If, after appropriate testing, there is no evidence that conception has occurred already, she may be treated with medications that would prevent ovulation, sperm capacitation, or fertilization. It is not permissible, however, to initiate or to recommend treatments that have as their purpose or direct effect the removal, destruction, or interference with the implantation of a fertilized ovum” (No. 36). www.usccb.org/bishops/directives.shtml

The Church is against ABC in the case of INTERcourse which of course rape is not.
 
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