I was reading an article the other day regarding the over-the-counter morning after pill and how its popularity has risen since becoming available over-the-counter. The manufacturers of this product have had a lot of people protesting the use of this product, calling it a "tantamount to abortion". I personally would not use this product as a means of preventing a pregnancy from occurring, but it appears that many women have or would if the situation presented itself.
This presents the question – Is using this product abortion?
Many believe that life begins at conception and feel it is murder to abort a pregnancy at any stage. Many others, including myself, believe that life begins at a certain phase and aborting a pregnancy before this phase is not murder.
Science does show that it is not until around the second week after fertilization that an embryo has "life" meaning it has a central nervous system, heart and lungs.
I feel that a woman should be given the right to choose. But just as it is my right to choose not to use this product, it is the next woman’s right to choose to use it.
Your thoughts?
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23 comments:
This, as always has been a touchy subject. I to do not agree with the "morning after pill". I strongly believe that to many ("not women") girls are using this as a form of birth control. I feel like if girls/women can use this pill the morning after then why not use protection the night of? Society is only making it easy for teenagers to continue making the wrong choices about pre-marital sex. We have all kinds of learning for teenage girls about teenage pregnacy, but basically saying well if "you decide to do this then it's okay because we have an OTC that will take care of the problem", if a "problem" arises! Now, I feel like women that use this "pill" should know what they are doing. They are not young girls anymore. They without a doubt know the consequences behind their actions. They also fully know and can get what ever it will take to prevent a pregnancy if it is unwanted.
Excellent point!
I agree they have made it way too easy for teenagers and young women to get a "quick fix" rather than doing the responsible thing prior to engaging in sexual activity. Such a sad reality.
The morning after pill has been labeled as another form of a contraceptive device. Some women think the standard "pill" just won't cut it. So, instead they take it to the next level, an over-the-counter abortion. Ironically it has been labeled "The Morning After," as if woman are not thinking clearly in the middle of the night. In my opinin, any woman can take the pre-cautions of preventing an unwanted pregancy, through condoms, and various forms of birth control. It is then there responsibility to maintain these levels of responsibility. When being irresponsible, an event could take place that could result in something of the unexpected.
This is a very touchy subject, but I am going to jump in while the water is hot. I think that we should dig deeper. This is not just an option for silly teenagers that aren't prepared for sex. This option is available for rape and sexual abuse victims. I don't think that it is fair to call it "the abortion pill." I can't really say that I would not use it if I was a victim of rape.
Hmm. I can honestly say that I am not pro-choice, nor pro-life. I am more on the terms of pro-responsability. I feel it depends on the situation. If a woman becomes pregnant on accident once and cannot take care of a baby then I am OK with abortion or the morning after pill. If she continues to get pregnant then I believe it is immoral and wrong on every aspect. If a woman is raped and gets pregnant, then OK. There are too many irresponsible 'parents' out there to just ban abortion in my oppinion. To answer your question if I feel the morning after pill is abortion, I believe it is indeed. I believe abortion is better (for lack of a better term) than having a baby and choosing to dump her/him in the dumpster or in a lake.
But what are the spiritual ramifications of abortion based on your faith or belief? I don't plan on running for President, so I will be honest and say that I am pro-choice. I believe that what I do with my body is between me and my God. I do not agree with abortion (I have three children at home), but I am not in a position to say whether or not you should have one or whether or not you should take the morning after pill.
I think a lot of females do abuse the morning after pill. However, there are some females that face unfortunate situations where they may be a rape victim or their first method of protection failed (i.e. a condom).
I don't agree that society is making it easier for teens to engage in premarital sex, although society has always had an influence on teens, but society does not raise our teens. The parents/caregiver does. Some parents use the excuse that they work 40+ hours a week and that's why their teen is watching rap videos all day, got pregnant at 16, or got caught with some pot.
Imagine what would happen if that parent, who works 40+ hours a week, took 30 minutes out of each day (that is 210 minutes a week, and it is less than half an 8 hour work day) when they got home to have a talk with their child about different types of S.T.D.’s, ways to protect themselves if they are going participate in sexual activity, (remember teens are the one that make the decision on whether or not they will have sex not the parent and not their peers) and let them know how precious their body is from a physical, religious, and mental state.
Let’s remember there is a thing called sex-ed, but it is not the schools responsibility to drill it into the teenagers’ head it is the parents/caregiver. So, if a pharmaceutical company wants to release a so-called, morning after pill let them do so. They are not trying to encourage premarital sex; however the parent who did not even spend at least half a work day a week to educate the female is unknowingly promoting premarital sex.
“Quick fix”, "Tantamount to Abortion” and “Mini Abortion Pill” are others judgments on what they think the pill does. Unless you are surveyed and watched will using the pill you will not know what of the three stages below you went through after taking the pill. The emergency contraceptive/morning-after pill has three possible ways in which it can work (as does the regular birth control pill):
1. Ovulation is inhibited, meaning the egg will not be released;
2. The normal menstrual cycle is altered, delaying ovulation; or
3. It can irritate the lining of the uterus so that if the first and second actions fail, and the woman does become pregnant, the human being created will die before he or she can actually attach to the lining of the uterus.
In other words, if the third action occurs, her body rejects the living human embryo, and the child will die. This result is a chemical abortion. (Abortion is an act of direct killing that takes the life of a living pre-born human being—a life that begins at fertilization.) From (http://www.morningafterpill.org/mapinfo1.htm)
Latanya brings up a very good point. Some States have passed or are trying to pass legislation to make this pill can be available in Emergency rooms for cases of rape. Which I think is a good idea, a woman who has been raped should have the choice to take this pill to prevent a pregnancy that may have resulted from such a traumatic event.
Several of you have made the point, and I agree this is key:
Education and Communication at home, parents in this day and age have to educate their children, need to be able communicate with their children and express the importance of protecting themselves if they chose to engage in sexual activity. As one classmate said, the individual makes the decision to engage not their parents or their peers. So it is imperative they understand the physical and emotional consequences of engaging in sexual activity, as well as the risks and responsibilities of becoming active.
Well, this is a very touchy subject with me. Simply because being in the profession that I am in there are so many irresponsible cases where the individuals resulted to the morning after or other levels of abortion. Me personally I can say I disagree until being put into those different situation.
I see that many just straight out say 'NO'; but when the rubber meet the road; other options such as abortion seems to be the better highway. So basically I feel that it shall be left up to the individual and GOD. If they can stand before HIM and be liable for their actions, so be it........
I believe that the "morning after" pill is, to many females, an easy birht control. Many friends and associates I know have turned to this pill; some, even while on birth control. I do view it as a form of abortion and I do not agree with how simple this product is, but I do not judge those who use it. It all depends on the different situations it is used for.
In a situation where there is a rape incident, if the victim chooses, then by all means--but--in a situation where a person was extremely intoxicated the previous night, use of the pill relies on that person and her morals.
As a man i can not justify the right or wrong of the morning after pill or abortion, i can only say that any woman or girl has a very serious choice and/or consequence to face with the birth of a child. The world is full of unplanned children that may have had a good, fair, or poor lifestyle due to a night of sex( mind you nothing is a hundred percent guaranteed when it comes to sexual encounters except abstinence). With this becoming a widely observed matter this pill get unsuspecting women/girls as well as men/boys chance to learn, grow, and make better choices because if you look at it our economy will somehow be affected by the choice that each woman/girl makes when they decide to have a child or use the morning after pill.
First off I have to say you argued your platform very well. And I would have to say I agree with you in that it is up to each woman to decide to use the morning after pill. And in my opinion it is not considered abortion (to each its own). But I would like to go into a direction that you did not venture. That of which, where women are using the pill as form of birth control. Yes, I believe it ok for it to be used when it is necessary, for the morning after pill is only affective within 72 hours of conception, but how often is it necessary. And how often is too often? There are girls out there that are being careless over and over again and then popping the pill afterwards. When this pill became available over the counter, we allowed (more-so then before) for it to become a more frequently used product. So, by saying that how many times do you have to take this pill before it begins to be abused?
What if a scientist could make a birth control pill for guys. If you are a guy would you use it? If you are a woman, would you ask your male partner to use it?
I think that women should have the right to choose what they want for themselves and thier bodies. I can't change their minds and although I certaintly do not agree with the mornng after pill, it is not my descision. Every action has its risks and consequences and therefore if a person is willing to deal with that, they should have the right.
I agree that it is up to the woman in question to decide whether to use the pill or not. If the person is willing to deal with the risk and consequences, they should be allowed to use it. I don't in any shape or form agree with the use of this pill, but I do not think it is abortion either.
Michelle B
I definitely feel like this morning after pill is making it easy for young women to make bad choices. Why not take the proper precautions the night before. I think that products which enable us to be iresponsible should no longer be made.
I would have to say that I agree with the morning after pill, just for the simple fact that it is a way to end pregnancy without "technically" killing a life. On the originally post, it stated that studies have shown that it takes two weeks to develop a heart, lungs etc. The morning after pill is taking exactly when the name states it should be taken...The Morning After. Nothing has developed, sperm has simply reached the egg and the fertilization process is just beginning. An abortion is actually killing a life wich I do not agree with and I believe that a woman should not have a choice to get a an abortion, however, the morning after pill prevents any said process from actually occuring.
I do feel that women should have the right on that type of decision. I that like all other decisions the information should be given as far as the risk go and how this may affect the woman in the long run. Abstinence is always the best but if one muse have sex a condom is always in reach. It is just as accesible as the morning after pill.
Wow, this topic has brought about many comments. I agree with many of your thoughts. I too think women should act responsibily. How many women are using this as a means of birth control instead of acting responsibly? I don't think this should be available OTC as it's become too easy for younger people to obtain. I agree with Latanya that it is a viable option for those who suffer from rape or sexual abuse. In these cases, it should be made available to women in hospital settings. Lastly, what happened to the "other" choices women have like adoption? There are many families on wait lists to adopt babies; why not be selfless and give the baby a chance at life?
I personally think that pills to prevent pregnancy are a very good thing to have. Lets face it, people like to have sex! I think that if a couple decides to have sex and their not ready for a child, than these kind of pills can help them to not do so. Also, like others have mentioned, if a woman gets raped than these pills can prevent them from having a strangers baby. Some believe that once a woman has been ejaculated in, it is murder for her to take pills to keep the sperm from fully fertilizing the egg and growing into a human. I think that it is wrong to a certain extent. But, I also believe that it takes a little while for the sperm and egg to develop into something. Therefore, if a pill is taken soon after having sex, to prevent the sperm from fully fertilizing the egg, than it is not murder. You can’t kill something that is not living. But if the sperm has fertilized the egg, and an actual baby is growing inside the womb, I believe it would be wrong for someone to take a pill to end that baby’s life.
I somewhat agree. There is a difference between a pill that prevent conception and a pill that terminates pregnancy. I don't think that it should be called an abortion pill. That is not what it was intended to do.
I believe that as long as the pill is taken before the pregnancy is even known about then it is not really abortion. If this is taken when the woman knows that she is pregnant then I believe that it is abortion. I believe the second that a baby starts to be in the mothers womb it is a baby and has life and it is murder. Go look online at the pictures of the aborted babies that people say aren't really alive yet. They still look like small humans to me. This pill is also taking the responsibility away from people so they can have sex and not have to worry about a baby.
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