Do Birth Control Pills Cause Abortion?

I recall reading an article several years ago that dealt with this subject in quite a bit of detail. What was most interesting was how the definition of certain words have changed over the years. This article noted that originally birth control pills were considered abortificants (ending pregnancy) until pregnancy was re-defined. Now they are considered contraceptives (preventing pregnancy).

 

I'm part of a small committee responsible for developing an updated Statement of Faith where I attend church.

One of our committee submitted this:

Boy, it sure needs work!
1) I do not agree with many of the verses included.
2) I'm not sure that we can biblically define when life starts.

I personally live by this belief but could not say that it is entirely biblical.

It does mean that "contraception" products like the "pill" are unexceptable.

Rob

 

I believe contraceptive pills and such are unacceptable in God's eyes. Making such available gives people license to sin IMO. They don't have to worry about getting pregnant and having the responsibility of raising a child. They can lay with whomever they wish without worrying about pregnancy.

Psalm 127:3 tells us that children are a reward from God. Man has no right whatsoever making the decision to abort, or prevent a pregnancy.

If you don't want to get pregnant, abstain.

 

Oh Lordy SFC, you sound like my mama. She made me suffer needlessly for years because she thought that. Didn't matter that I never went anywhere to actually have sex and that the BC would have cured the female problems I was suffering from.

It's not BC pills that give a licsense to sin. It's mama and daddy that don't pay attention to what their kids are doing. It's men who see women only as an object for their own desire and women who buy into that, thinking that if they "satify" a man that will bring them love and fullfillment. It's the church who fails to teach holyness to it's members, especially the young thinking that surely the parents will. And also the church for failing to teach repentence and what we should repent of.

As for BC causing abortion, certain methods do. Others(the pill) might, might not, and can't be proven definitively either way. There are only opinions and theories. There was a discussion of this not long back. It can probably be searched for. My views are contained within so I won't repeat myself other than to say, let each be convinced in his/her own mind.

 

the pill does further that license, mk. many do go to the doc to get prescriptions for it just so they won't get pregnant. Men buy condoms for the same reason.. to prevent getting a woman pregnant. They do use it as a license to fulfill their lustful desires without the consequences.

 

In a word, no.

It isn't an issue of whether life begins at conception or at birth. The "pill" prevents conception. The pill is does not work like an IUD. An IUD keeps a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus. The "pill" acts on the egg prior to fertilization.

 

Ah, but the root isn't the condom or the pill. The root is simple rebellion. And there are more consequences to sex than just pregnancy. Emotional disturbance and STD's are just as serious and neither pill nor condom will prevent those.

Do you propose to ban such items from use by married couples in order to prevent those who are unmarried from using them? Or are you of the opinion that even married folk shouldn't try to prevent a pregnancy that they might not want?

 

SFIC, I have to disagree with you on this one. Methinks you paint with too broad a brush, and I think RandR is right on the medical front.

Drat...and I had gone three days without disagreeing with ya, too.

 

Yes....

 

As the Word of God says, Children are an heritage of the Lord; and the fruit of the womb His reward.

It is not man's right to stop a pregnancy just for the sake of fulfilling sexual desires.

 

Thank you for an accurate answer.

 

The pill does not stop a pregnancey, it prevents one. Planning the number of children a couple intends to have is not forbidden in Scripture, but could be argued that it is encouraged as we are to be good stewards. If a couple can barely make ends meet with one child, it would be irresponsible to go on and have six.

Sex is more than the cause of conception in a marriage, so "fulfilling sexual desires" is not only acceptable, but encouraged for married couples. Read Song of Solomon.

 

But webdog, SoS is allegory, remember?

 

SFC, I agree, my children are my heritage. They are what I'll leave behind that "proves" I've been on this earth.

But, if I have more than I can handle emotionally, physically and financially, then what I leave behind is a legacy of pain.

I don't believe married people should abstain just for fear of having a baby that they can't sustain. I don't see a biblical basis for that or for not using our God given intelligence to decide how many children it is wise for any one couple to have.

 

What "pill" are we talking about? If you take the "mini pill", which is what Planned Parenthood gives out, that is only a small does of progestin(synthetic progesterone). If you miss one dose, conception is possible but then you could stop implantation. That's why Planned Parenthood gives it out, because they know it will give the girls a false sense of security and they are likely not responsible enough to take it every day.

There is another pill that is a higher does of progestin and usually only taken once a week, which I think still can permit conception but make implantation more difficult.

If you take the pill with both progesitn and estrogen, there is a much higher liklihood that conception will not occur, and there are studies out there that say that compared to a placebo, a women is not more like to have an involuntary abortion. In some studies involutary abortions (stopping implantation) have actually decreased.

I think many agree that the progestin only pills act as an abortificant(sp?) but there is some disagreement over the progestin/estrogen pill.

With these pills you should not have "relations" for a certain amount of time until the drug(s) has had time to affect your body, or else it likely will act as an abortificant.

It is also worthy to note that the "morning after pill" is simply a high dosage of "the pill". It's like if a Dr gives you a prescription for 800mg of ibuprofen pills, you could just take 4 of the OT 200mg ibuprofen pills instead. A woman could just take X number of birth control pills instead of getting a prescription for the "morning after pill" (and there are tables out there that tell women how to do it). It is different from RU-486.

If you believe that unnaturally stopping conception is wrong, then none of this matters.

Something to consider, however, is that there might be other things we ingest that are correlated to a higher rate of involuntary abortion than taking "the pill".

And when does it go from being a "miscarriage" and turn into an"involuntary abortion"? Technically speaking they are both the same thing, but morally speaking we would not say a miscarriage is the same as an abortion.

 

The pill does not stop a pregnancey, it prevents one. Planning the number of children a couple intends to have is not forbidden in Scripture, but could be argued that it is encouraged as we are to be good stewards. If a couple can barely make ends meet with one child, it would be irresponsible to go on and have six.

Sex is more than the cause of conception in a marriage, so "fulfilling sexual desires" is not only acceptable, but encouraged for married couples. Read Song of Solomon. </font>[/QUOTE]Agreed!

BTW, those against any form of contraception, what do you say to married couples who choose not have more children due to health concerns (i.e. more than likely mother will die). I am not talking about abortion either. I, for example, will most likely die if I have another child. I also cannot take the pill. I do not see anything wrong with being responsible and using condoms or other BC methods, even surgical ones if need be. Do you also disagree with tubal ligations?

 

as 'children' of God-isn't sexual playfulness like in the SOS actually required? Anyway GOd wants you to have a child, even by adoption, you life is probably feel unfufilled and miserable anyway until you get one.
My question is on another subject: Why arn't we portesting stem-cell research by buying the frozen embryos and concieving them? There are still tons of waiting labs so why arn't we getting to them before the opprotunity allows them to be destoryed?

 

There actually is a group that helps people adopt embryos, I think it called like the snowflake project or something. President Bush has had the "snowflake" babies at the White House.
Article about it:
Snowflake Babies

The organization:
LINK