There are presently four different kinds of emergency contraception pills (ECPs) available throughout the world. Two of them are available in Canada (and the United States), one is only available in Europe, and the fourth only in China. The two ECPs available in Canada work in similar ways. In simple terms, they either keep the ovaries from ovulating or prevent sperm from fertilizing an egg. In both those cases, conception hasn’t occurred. However, a third option is also possible—and here the science is still in its nascency—namely, that ECPs may prevent a fertilized egg from becoming implanted on the uterine wall. There are many who don’t want to call this last scenario an abortion; but terminology aside, it does prevent a human life that’s been conceived from continuing and having a chance to develop.
Unfortunately, much of the available literature on ECPs is unnecessarily vague about how they work. In Vancouver, where I live, for instance, Vancouver Coastal Health—which runs all the hospitals in the Greater Vancouver Region—publishes a brochure on one of the two ECPs available in Canada, called “Plan B.” You can find a copy of this brochure here. Under the “How does it work?” section, they say:
It may keep the ovaries from letting out an egg, keep the sperm from meeting the egg, or stop the egg from attaching to the wall of the uterus.
What they fail to say is that in the third case, the egg is already fertilized. It is, biologically and theologically, a living human being. A very, very small and undeveloped one, yes, but one nevertheless.
Part of the difficulty in thinking about ECPs lies, surprisingly, in how pregnancy is defined. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), pregnancy doesn’t begin when a sperm fertilizes an egg (what is commonly called conception, or fertilization). Pregnancy, according to the ACOG, begins when the fertilized egg is implanted in the lining of the uterus, typically five to seven days after fertilization. If this definition strikes you as weird, it should. (You can read about this controversy here.) If you accept their definition, it conveniently allows for drugs and medications like ECPs to be used without being seen as abortifacients. But if you think, as I do, that it is more correct and precise to say that pregnancy begins when life begins, you must say that pregnancy begins at conception. That being the case, ECPs, while not always allowing a zygote to die, may in some cases do just that (which is very much an abortion), and hence, should not be seen as Biblically or ethically permissible. (This, in fact, raises the whole issue of contraception in general, and whether any form of contraception is allowed by the Bible. I can’t get into that debate here.) (For more on the ECP known as “Plan B,” see this article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, here.)
Before I wrap up this answer it bears reflecting on why anyone would want to take an ECP. In virtually every instance it’s because a woman has premarital sex and doesn’t want to get pregnant. So if you’re not married, don’t have sex. You won’t get pregnant and you won’t have to worry about what to do. If you are married, why wouldn’t you want to have a baby? That question deserves very significant attention, more than I can give here. Too many people delay having children after they’ve been married for what can only be called selfish (and, therefore, sinful) reasons. But I digress.
Lastly, since we’re discussing medicine, it bears noting that almost all abortions in Canada are publicly funded, which means our tax dollars go to the legalized killing of our nation’s children. That is a harsh reality and it should break our hearts, lead us to repentance, and move us to act.
[Answered by Dr. Stephen Tu, Trinity Pacific Church]
Before I wrap up this answer it bears reflecting on why anyone would want to take an ECP. In virtually every instance it’s because a woman has premarital sex and doesn’t want to get pregnant. So if you’re not married, don’t have sex. You won’t get pregnant and you won’t have to worry about what to do. If you are married, why wouldn’t you want to have a baby? That question deserves very significant attention, more than I can give here. Too many people delay having children after they’ve been married for what can only be called selfish (and, therefore, sinful) reasons. But I digress.
Lastly, since we’re discussing medicine, it bears noting that almost all abortions in Canada are publicly funded, which means our tax dollars go to the legalized killing of our nation’s children. That is a harsh reality and it should break our hearts, lead us to repentance, and move us to act.
[Answered by Dr. Stephen Tu, Trinity Pacific Church]
