A Controversial Topic: Abortion is Rampant in the U.S.A., and Many Pro-lifers are Also to Blame
What I'm about to describe to you is a very controversial topic, that of abortion in this country. I guess I'll give my view straight-up in the beginning: I have no clue what is right or wrong, and have gone between both pro-life and pro-choice since I was a teenager. The more I read and think, the more confused this issue becomes. No matter what your beliefs are, take heed here, read what I have to say, and put your pre-conceived notions aside. Only thinkers are allowed here.
First of all, the conclusion I have come to in my research and thoughts is thus: I am both pro-life and pro-choice. Let me explain this apparent paradox:
From a religious and moral "standpoint," I am thouroughly against abortion, and personally believe that it is wrong. I do believe it is the taking of a life, although, to be honest, I'm still not quite sure when you can safely say that life begins. I'm not going to be like a million other pro-life people, and say that it absolutely begins at conception. I simply do not know, so I will tend to ere on the cautionary side. Thus, believing that, if you are morally against abortion, you might as well start at the beginning and say that since we can not know when life begins, we should morally be opposed to abortions from the time of conception.
On the other hand, from a governmental and legislative "standpoint," I believe that women should have the right to choose in this country. Why? Because I believe that I and the U.S.A. cannot and should not force specific religious and moral beliefs concerning abortion upon other people who may not share those beliefs. That is a very dangerous thing, especially nowadays where the meaning of "freedom" seems to be one of the hottest and most explosive topics in this country. Certain administrations and factions within this country's government would have their own personal beliefs forced upon women's wombs everywhere, and that is clearly, in my opinion, unconstitutional. Thus, whereas I disagree with almost everything these right-wing people say, I do share their personal beliefs on abortion, but not their methods to force these beliefs down other people's throats with specific legislation outlawing the practice of abortion. It is a personal choice in this manner (although, I do agree with legislation outlawing late-term abortion, because it is clear to me that life is present in this case and the only difference is the location of the baby between inside and outside of the womb).
However, this is only a prelude for what is to come, for what I am about to say is truly "controversial". It involves a theory that I first thought about in medical school, which I now believe to be happening everyday and everywhere. This theory supports the fact, that with the exception of many devout Catholics, thousands and thousands of pro-life "Christians" out there (the ones who believe that life begins at conception), are aborting their embryos (i.e. babies) left and right.
Hormonal contraceptives (i.e. "the pill", and implantable forms such as Depo-provera) are used commonly by Christians everywhere, even by thousands of Christians that are solid and unwavering in their pro-life beliefs.
Let me explain how these hormonal contraceptive methods work. They are all based upon the natural hormones estrogen and progesterone, or a combination of both. These hormones, naturally produced by the woman's body, are usually cycled in various concentrations every 28 days, and the various mixture of their concentrations send specific signals about when to ovulate along with preparation of the uterus for implantation of an embryo. Pharmaceutical formulations of these hormones "interfere" with this natural cycle by changing the various concentrations within the bloodstream which subsequently interfere with the natural signals.
The basic mechanism in preventing pregnancy is by inhibiting ovulation, and thus conception should never occur in the first place. However, there are two little known facts about these contraceptive measures which make my theory possible, and thus supporting the fact that hormone-based contraceptives can cause abortion. First, while they are highly effective, these hormones do not have 100% efficacy in preventing ovulation. That part is known by a lot of people. Second, preventing ovulation is not the only effect that these hormones have on a woman's body. In concentrations such as promoted by these contraceptives, these hormones also prevent implantation of a fertilized embryo. As well, withdrawal of these hormones occurring naturally in a woman's cycle is the cause of menstruation, and when a woman takes the "placebo" pills at the end of a birth control cycle, this withdrawal of hormones causes shedding of the uterine lining.
Can you see where this is leading? There is no doubt that breakthrough ovulation occurs on these contraceptives given their prevalent use in this country and their lack of 100% efficacy in preventing ovulation. When this occurs, in a number of cases, the ovulated egg is fertilized (and thus conception has occurred). However, due to the continued effects of the contraceptives on the uterus, this embryo may not be implanted, and thus it is aborted unknowingly. And even if the embryo by some chance acheives implantation, there is also a chance that many of these embryos are secondarily aborted as the uterine lining is sloughed off with the withdrawal of hormones (when the woman takes her "placebo" pills at the end of the contraceptive cycle). The cause of all of this? Hormonally-based contraceptives.
It is very hard to prove this scientifically, and thus it is conceivable that it has happened at least once, if not thousands and maybe millions of times. But many people have gotten pregnant on hormone contraceptives, so we know that breakthrough ovulation occurs. As well, those people who get pregnant on these contraceptives seemingly have also been unlucky (in their view), in that they still got pregnant despite the hormones' effects upon discouraging implantation of the embryo in the uterus, and uterine wall sloughing if the embryo is by chance implanted. Given these facts, it would support that the number of aborted embryos should be at least higher than the number of pregancies which have resulted despite appropriate use of these contraceptives.
Whereas the phenomenon may be rare, there is no doubt in my mind that it has and will continue to occur as long as women are using hormonally-based contraceptives. Tons of these women are pro-life, and yet they are taking a chance at aborting their own embryos artificially by taking these hormones. Current statistics show that the prevalence of oral contraceptive use in this country is around 15%. Assuming, based on U.S. census results in 2000, that there are 106 million women over 18 years old in the United States, there are around 15 million women using oral contraceptives in the U.S. alone. Also assuming a 99.7% efficacy rate in preventing ovulation, every 28 days 45,000 breakthrough ovulations occur on oral contraceptives alone (do the math yourself). Given that, there is no doubt that abortions of fertilized embryos are occurring all of the time every single month.
I feel these numbers speak for themselves. Whereas individually, the chance is slim of aborting an embryo at any given time, with all of the women using hormonal contraceptives in the U.S., and over many months and years of their use, thousands upon millions of unknown abortions are occurring, in both pro-lifers and pro-choicers alike.
First of all, the conclusion I have come to in my research and thoughts is thus: I am both pro-life and pro-choice. Let me explain this apparent paradox:
From a religious and moral "standpoint," I am thouroughly against abortion, and personally believe that it is wrong. I do believe it is the taking of a life, although, to be honest, I'm still not quite sure when you can safely say that life begins. I'm not going to be like a million other pro-life people, and say that it absolutely begins at conception. I simply do not know, so I will tend to ere on the cautionary side. Thus, believing that, if you are morally against abortion, you might as well start at the beginning and say that since we can not know when life begins, we should morally be opposed to abortions from the time of conception.
On the other hand, from a governmental and legislative "standpoint," I believe that women should have the right to choose in this country. Why? Because I believe that I and the U.S.A. cannot and should not force specific religious and moral beliefs concerning abortion upon other people who may not share those beliefs. That is a very dangerous thing, especially nowadays where the meaning of "freedom" seems to be one of the hottest and most explosive topics in this country. Certain administrations and factions within this country's government would have their own personal beliefs forced upon women's wombs everywhere, and that is clearly, in my opinion, unconstitutional. Thus, whereas I disagree with almost everything these right-wing people say, I do share their personal beliefs on abortion, but not their methods to force these beliefs down other people's throats with specific legislation outlawing the practice of abortion. It is a personal choice in this manner (although, I do agree with legislation outlawing late-term abortion, because it is clear to me that life is present in this case and the only difference is the location of the baby between inside and outside of the womb).
However, this is only a prelude for what is to come, for what I am about to say is truly "controversial". It involves a theory that I first thought about in medical school, which I now believe to be happening everyday and everywhere. This theory supports the fact, that with the exception of many devout Catholics, thousands and thousands of pro-life "Christians" out there (the ones who believe that life begins at conception), are aborting their embryos (i.e. babies) left and right.
Hormonal contraceptives (i.e. "the pill", and implantable forms such as Depo-provera) are used commonly by Christians everywhere, even by thousands of Christians that are solid and unwavering in their pro-life beliefs.
Let me explain how these hormonal contraceptive methods work. They are all based upon the natural hormones estrogen and progesterone, or a combination of both. These hormones, naturally produced by the woman's body, are usually cycled in various concentrations every 28 days, and the various mixture of their concentrations send specific signals about when to ovulate along with preparation of the uterus for implantation of an embryo. Pharmaceutical formulations of these hormones "interfere" with this natural cycle by changing the various concentrations within the bloodstream which subsequently interfere with the natural signals.
The basic mechanism in preventing pregnancy is by inhibiting ovulation, and thus conception should never occur in the first place. However, there are two little known facts about these contraceptive measures which make my theory possible, and thus supporting the fact that hormone-based contraceptives can cause abortion. First, while they are highly effective, these hormones do not have 100% efficacy in preventing ovulation. That part is known by a lot of people. Second, preventing ovulation is not the only effect that these hormones have on a woman's body. In concentrations such as promoted by these contraceptives, these hormones also prevent implantation of a fertilized embryo. As well, withdrawal of these hormones occurring naturally in a woman's cycle is the cause of menstruation, and when a woman takes the "placebo" pills at the end of a birth control cycle, this withdrawal of hormones causes shedding of the uterine lining.
Can you see where this is leading? There is no doubt that breakthrough ovulation occurs on these contraceptives given their prevalent use in this country and their lack of 100% efficacy in preventing ovulation. When this occurs, in a number of cases, the ovulated egg is fertilized (and thus conception has occurred). However, due to the continued effects of the contraceptives on the uterus, this embryo may not be implanted, and thus it is aborted unknowingly. And even if the embryo by some chance acheives implantation, there is also a chance that many of these embryos are secondarily aborted as the uterine lining is sloughed off with the withdrawal of hormones (when the woman takes her "placebo" pills at the end of the contraceptive cycle). The cause of all of this? Hormonally-based contraceptives.
It is very hard to prove this scientifically, and thus it is conceivable that it has happened at least once, if not thousands and maybe millions of times. But many people have gotten pregnant on hormone contraceptives, so we know that breakthrough ovulation occurs. As well, those people who get pregnant on these contraceptives seemingly have also been unlucky (in their view), in that they still got pregnant despite the hormones' effects upon discouraging implantation of the embryo in the uterus, and uterine wall sloughing if the embryo is by chance implanted. Given these facts, it would support that the number of aborted embryos should be at least higher than the number of pregancies which have resulted despite appropriate use of these contraceptives.
Whereas the phenomenon may be rare, there is no doubt in my mind that it has and will continue to occur as long as women are using hormonally-based contraceptives. Tons of these women are pro-life, and yet they are taking a chance at aborting their own embryos artificially by taking these hormones. Current statistics show that the prevalence of oral contraceptive use in this country is around 15%. Assuming, based on U.S. census results in 2000, that there are 106 million women over 18 years old in the United States, there are around 15 million women using oral contraceptives in the U.S. alone. Also assuming a 99.7% efficacy rate in preventing ovulation, every 28 days 45,000 breakthrough ovulations occur on oral contraceptives alone (do the math yourself). Given that, there is no doubt that abortions of fertilized embryos are occurring all of the time every single month.
I feel these numbers speak for themselves. Whereas individually, the chance is slim of aborting an embryo at any given time, with all of the women using hormonal contraceptives in the U.S., and over many months and years of their use, thousands upon millions of unknown abortions are occurring, in both pro-lifers and pro-choicers alike.
But I don't see any pro-lifers out there calling for hormonal contraceptives to be outlawed in this country (thousands undoubtedly rely upon these hormones themselves), and perhaps more abortions are caused by these drugs than are the abortions caused by the measures that they are so radically opposed to. Afterall, they are now calling for the abolition of the "morning-after pill," yet regular oral contraceptives in many cases work exactly like the "morning-after pill," and in fact both are made of the same exact hormones, just in different concentrations. And for another debate, these same people, who are aborting their own embryos with these pills unknowingly, are also calling upon the government to save frozen embryos from being used to further medicine through stem cell research.
Is it morally wrong if you don't knowingly abort your baby? Well, to quote the late Notorious B.I.G., "If you don't know, now ya know."
posted by J-Mart @ 11:00 AM
1 Comments:
VERY interesting and powerful discussion here. I've never heard of the medical explanation put in these terms. I'm like you, though, floating back and forth between the pro's. I marched in D.C. last year advocating Pro-Choice, but only because, like you, I don't see how we can restrict the decisions of others.
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