Disclaimer: Do not read if you are easily riled up by convicting information.
I realize I am risking losing readership here, because oftentimes people will not return to a site if they disagree even once with the poster. You can feel free to disagree with me (comments welcome!), but please back up your statements.
Some of you still with me? Okay, here goes…
If I had a soapbox, it would be: Pro-life women using birth control.
Some do it in ignorance (who can blame them when some of them have been on it since they were teens for acne?); some CHOOSE to use it despite their knowledge, and therefore should not be able to call themselves pro-life. The reason for this? The secondary property of chemical birth control (read: The Pill, IUDs, Depo-Provera, Norplant, etc.) methods is abortifacient. Meaning it kills babies.
“I want to surrender my life to God, but not that part of it…”
What other options are there, you ask?
Natural family planning.
Husband and I were completely ignorant about this. I would have gone into marriage using The Pill, because hello? That’s what everyone did! However, we learned about NFP by listening to a couple interviewed on a Christian talk show the summer we got engaged. Their book is here. Our minds were enlightened, and we knew we could not go the planned route. We used NFP until we were ready to have a baby. The ignoramus of a doctor I went to for my pre-marriage physical had this to say about NFP (after I told him I wouldn’t be needing a birth control prescription): “You know what they call people who use NFP, don’t you? Parents!”
I wanted to punch him in the face, but I held it together. NFP is great for the woman who wants to get to know her body well. I got to the point where I could tell I was fertile just by my temperatures, but not everyone gets there. Some women don’t have as strong of a temp sign.
Now that you’re informed, you might still be one of those who chooses to continue using a contraceptive/abortifacient. But please, don’t call yourself pro-life.
Good sources for more reading:
http://www.aaplog.org/collition.htm
http://www.pregnantpause.org/abort/untold.htm
http://www.epm.org/articles/bcp5400.html
Minnesota Mom 
There are forms of birth control that don’t require hormones. I do think the choice to become a parent is about the most important one a person can make. A preventative does not actually abort anything. Personally, I think people should make their own choices about this, so I respect yours. I would hate to see people who need pregnancy prevention stop using the pill, though. Maternal mortality is still high in this country and abroad.
Huntingdonpost,
Thank you for visiting.
I encourage you to back up your statement that “a preventative does not actually abort anything.”
I, too, believe that each person is allowed their own choice in the matter, but my plea with this post is simply that those who choose to use birth control (which, if you read the articles I attached, as a secondary measure if fertilization is not prevented, thins the lining of the endometrium so as to make it inhospitable to the blastocyst, or baby–meaning the pregnancy is terminated) not call themselves pro-life. If they say, “I am pro-choice” because they make the choice to use one of these methods, I have no bone to pick with them.
Just to be sure, when you say birth control, are you just speaking of chemical birth control? What are your thoughts on non-chemical/hormonal bc? (I’m sure you know why I’m asking, haha).
An interesting thing that I went through… before getting married, I talked with my nurse practitioner about b.c., particularly the pill, and she told me that the pill she was suggesting did NOT ever abort because all it did was simply prevent ovulation. I tried and tried to find out more about the pill she mentioned and what it actually did, to be sure it never would abort, and couldn’t find out. As you already know I’m not on that anymore, but even while I was I never felt right now knowing exactly what that little pill was doing. Can you really trust an MD or NP? I’m not so sure… (ha, and I’m about to be a nurse!)
Sorry, I really should proof-read my comments before submitting. I meant “I never felt right noT knowing…”
I stopped taking the mini-pill while I was nursing b/c it prevented a fertilized egg to attach to the thickened uterine wall. The mini-pill caused the thickening.
My husband has since had a vasectomy and we are very pleased with the results.
I took BC before we had kids, but have not taken them since. Hormones – natural or synthetic – scare the poo outta me.
(And yes, I eat the occasional hormone infested cow and chicken…)
It’s an interesting take on the matter, and I appreciate the point you make that to walk the walk is more than just talking the talk.
Carrie,
I’m assuming you mean barrier methods (condoms, diaphragms, etc.) or surgical measures (vasectomy, tube tying, etc.). There’s not a Biblical stance on these, as far as I know (though some people hold so stiffly to certain views that you might think otherwise). The Bible is very clear on murder (which is what abortion is, if you believe the scientific view that life begins at conception), but it doesn’t say anything about preventing pregnancy. If The Pill or other chemical birth control methods could function without the secondary effect (the prevention of the embryo attaching to the uterus), then I wouldn’t have a problem with them.
There are definitely doctors and nurses who teach about the full effects of birth control (see the first link on my sources in the post) in their practices; they’re just a bit tricky to find. I think it’s always best to educate yourself when you go into a situation where you know you’ll meet with opposition.
Erica–sorry if I’ve given the impression that I’m a perfect eater. I am most certainly not! Whenever an organic meat or vegetarian option is available, I usually choose it, but we still purchase non-organic groceries, cleaning products, etc. EVERYTHING gives a person cancer these days, so it’s hard to say how far you can go to protect yourself. Sigh…
I am a first time visiter today, and I couldn’t agree with you more! You are brave to share your heart and real opinions. I know the pain of taking your fertility into your own hands, my husband just under went a vasectomy reversal in February….
Our journey has been long but God is good and we pray every day for God to bless us with more children!
Oh and we both read Jenni and PW and a few others….
Oh I definitely agree with you on when life begins. I’m very passionate about ending abortions of all kind because they are so dishonoring to God and so not loving to others. What’s sad is that even though I was pro-life while I was on the pill, I honestly believed my nurse practitioner at her word that the pill I was taking wouldn’t ever cause an abortion. I remember plainly asking her if there was any way that the pill could abort, and she said absolutely not. (ugh) So, I feel dumb saying that I was just ignorant, but even after my failed attempts to find out more, I thought it was an okay God glorifying option. And I know of many Christian sisters who are currently using the pill with that same false understanding, so I’m glad that you did this post (and motivated me to talk to those girls I just spoke of). Good thing the pill gave me such bad headaches that I stopped it… because now I’m never going on it again.
A great resource for ladies looking to start NFP is “Taking Charge of Your Fertility” – I’m reading it, and it explains things very clearly. Good luck!
Happy Mommy–welcome! I may be brave, but re-reading my post, I think I may have come across pretty harshly. Sometimes my passion leads me into being a bit too blunt. Those who know me in real life (like Carrie) can probably read it and “get” that, but for anyone who’s made it this far in the comments and is feeling offended…while I don’t apologize for the content, my tone could have definitely been more respectful.
Carrie–don’t feel badly. You did what you did in good faith at the time; you can’t be responsible for another’s actions or ignorance. She maybe didn’t realize, either. There are so many new pharmaceuticals on the market all the time that it’s hard for medical professionals to keep up!
Jennifer–thanks for the tip. I haven’t heard of that one.
What a loaded topic! I had no idea you were so passionate about such things.
I’m definitely a pro-lifer and had never heard this about birth control. Luckily I don’t take it so it’s not an issue for me. 🙂
I agree that the Pill is not as pro-life, even though it is promoted to be so.
I was on the Pill for a year when hubby and I were first married, then again for about 8 months after the birth of our first child. Then one day, in an emotional, dramatic, tear-filled display, I washed the rest of my BC prescription down the drain of the kitchen sink and ran the disposal–and felt some small satisfaction at the violent end those pills came to.
I had spent the previous evening reading Randy Alcorn’s piece on the BC Pill as an abortifacient (which I believe you linked), and while the odds are extremely low that it would act as one, I was sick with the fresh knowledge that there was even a remote possibility the Pill could “prevent” pregnancy in this way. Sick that there was even the slimmest chance that we could have lost a child during the year+ that I had been on the Pill. And angry that my OBGYN made the Pill sound so harmless to life.
When I read Randy Alcorn’s article to my husband, we decided to stop using the Pill, or any similar means of birth control. We agreed that it just isn’t worth the risk, however small, of possibly aborting a baby–perhaps without even knowing.
We haven’t regretted the decision.
I’ve told people this information so many times, only to have them outright refuse to believe it. You can find the information in any Physician’s Desk Reference (have ’em at the library)! But people will believe what they want and choose to believe…
We don’t try and we don’t not-try, and so people think I’m expecting them to do that as well whenever the topic comes up. I’m absolutely not. I just want them to be informed, and if they want to control their family size then there are other, pro-life ways to do that.
It’s bizarre, isn’t it? The selective things we (because I’m sure I do it at times) choose to ignore? Randy Alcorn actually set out to prove that The Pill is safe, and found much to the contrary. I’m glad he was honest enough to report his findings rather than ignore them.
Jenni, that’s one thing I really appreciate about you. Even though you have a large family, I’ve never felt like you look down upon others who don’t. Sometimes I get the “vibe” from people that if I don’t have at least eight children, I’m not doing the Christian thing. And who knows? Maybe I will have eight (not if Husband has anything to say about it). Maybe I will only be blessed with this one.
Thank you for comment today on my blog! I am having a lot of trouble with Blogger and it deleted your comment…. I LOVE LOVE comments, Thank you! I would love to read your story, I was enjoying Jenni’s so much I had to write my own!
We are a lot like Jenni. We don’t actively TRY via charting or otherwise enhancing our fertility…but we don’t prevent, either. I’ve always said I am happy with whomever decides to come along. And we “do it” when we are in the mood, not because we think we’ll conceive or we won’t conceive.
BUT with this attitude, you have to be prepared for pregnancy losses—possible quite a few. I’ve had four, and they have torn me up in many ways. They’ve changed who I am.
People seem to think if they don’t use birth control they’d be having babies every 12 months, and that simply isn’t the case. At all. God was constantly opening and closing wombs in the Bible. He hasn’t changed his ways, even today. He is sovereign.
Living this lifestyle isn’t for the faint-hearted. But the blessings are tremendous.
I am a Christian and pro-life, but I have a different view of this. I have been on birth control at different times in my life and for different reasons. In fact, had I not been on birth control, I may have never conceived in the first place. I would call myself pro-life now, and then without hesitation.
@amy
Are you saying that you have used birth control for some of it’s other uses, and you weren’t on it when having sex. Or that you used to take it uninformed of it’s abortive potential and stopped when you were informed.
Otherwise you need to define what you mean by pro-life for yourself. You obviously can’t say that you think that life begins at conception as many pro-lifers do (being that your choice takes precedent over a conceived life).
I agree with you regarding that life begins at conception, however I think your theorys which try to substaniate your point, are just that – theories. I respectively disagree, and choose to still call myself pro-life. As far as I am concerned, God is making the decision whether or not, the baby will live.
Would you then further argue that any woman who has a spontaneous abortion has done something wrong or has jeopardized an unborn life? I don’t think so. Simply put, there is a clear difference between someone who takes an oral contraceptive to avoid pregnancy and someone who chooses to abort their baby by a medical procedure.
Perhaps we can respectively disagree and still advocate pro-life.
I’m not sure if you’re talking to me or the above commenter, but I’m going to attempt an answer. I think that if you’re going to disagree with a theory, you’d better have another “theory” that you agree with substantiated by more than your own opinion. I can say, “Children, go play in traffic on the freeway, because those mothers who tell their children they’ll get hit by a car? That’s just their theory, which I don’t believe in, so you’re safe.” But it doesn’t mean I’m not putting my children at risk based on past evidence. A flaw in this argument that actually works in my favor is that freeways were not designed to have a second purpose of killing small children, whereas the secondary property of many of these pills IS to get rid of a fertilized egg should the primary property of the pill not work.
A concrete example: go to http://www.yaz-us.com/home.jsp, click on the tab at the top that says, “Physician Prescribing Info” and read the first paragraph under the diagram of the structural formula. Most birth control products don’t put this info on their main page because they know that some women will understand what that means and stop using the products. Less $ in their pocket.
A second example: One of the links I already listed above is http://www.epm.org/articles/bcp5400.html. Please take time to read it and feel free to come back and let me know if you have any evidence to back up your opinion that this isn’t true.
I’m really not opposed to being proven wrong. I will write a retracting post if need be. I just need something that states evidence to the contrary.
I am not speaking to any other theory. It is soley my opinion and the stance that I take regarding it. I completely disagree with you on this point, but I do agree with you on the greater idea – pro-life.
While opinions are just that- opinions. I do not need to substantiate my opinion. It is my thought and my belief. I am open minded to read what others such as yourself have so say, and I respect your opinion. I am not trying to make someone see it my way.
It is your blog and your right to advocate your beliefs, I was just sharing mine as well. If you didn’t want to hear other thoughts, I assume you would not have your comments open to the public.
Regards,
Amy
@amy
I’m not talking about theories, I’am saying that:
1. It is a fact that birth control acts as an abortive when it fails to prevent conception.
2. You believe that life begins at conception
Thus, if you were consistent you would acknowledge that birth control can end life.
“Would you then further argue that any woman who has a spontaneous abortion has done something wrong or has jeopardized an unborn life?”
Why do you even pose this question? Surely you understand that in one instance the mother is taking a direct action (taking a pill) that can lead to death. The spontaneous abortion you are referring to is not a result of a decision (at least not a conscious/direct decision).
You should really think about your position and if you can honestly continue to hold it.
To Howard,
Perhaps you didn’t understand why I raised this question. I did so because one could always question or suggest she may have done something that caused her body to abort a baby, naturally. Perhaps she exercised too much? Did not eat the right food, etc. etc. While I do not believe these ideas, they could be arguments. Rather, I believe that some things simply happen naturally. Anything, CAN happen.
Having said that, I do not believe any woman chooses to take oral contracptives to kill her baby. There are clear reasons for taking these, death is not one of them.
The main reason for oral contraception is to PREVENT contraception. While many woman, have spontaneous abortions without taking oral contraceptives, who are you to suggest that a woman who has a misscarriage while taking the pill is purposely aborting her baby? Some things simply happen naturally – they are an act of God.
Once again, we can respectively agree to disagree, but for the most part I think we are all pro-life.
Regards,
Amy
@amy
I’ll leave you with this:
__________________
“In summary, according to multiple references throughout The Physician’s Desk Reference, which articulate the research findings of all the birth control pill manufacturers, there are not one but three mechanisms of birth control pills:
1. inhibiting ovulation (the primary mechanism),
2. thickening the cervical mucus, thereby making it more difficult for sperm to travel to the egg, and
3. thinning and shriveling the lining of the uterus to the point that it is unable or less able to facilitate the implantation of the newly fertilized egg.
The first two mechanisms are contraceptive. The third is abortive.
When a woman taking the Pill discovers she is pregnant (according to The Physician’s Desk Reference’s efficacy rate tables, this is 3 percent of pill-takers each year), it means that all three of these mechanisms have failed. The third mechanism sometimes fails in its role as backup, just as the first and second mechanisms sometimes fail. Each and every time the third mechanism succeeds, however, it causes an abortion.”
__________________
The 3rd mechanism of the pill is not an unintended consequence of the pill, it is part of how it does its job of preventing pregnancy.
@ Amy,
I would give up. Clearly these people only see black and white.
And if you are too crazy in the head to do Natural FAmily Planning, lambskin condoms work great and feel like skin! =)
I am a christian, a mother and pro-life . . . I have never once considered my family planning decisions to be incorrect, which is IUD . . . I know some of you just swallowed your tongues whole . . . I am going to give all of the info here great consideration . . . thank you for honest and open conversation . . . though getting kind of hot-headed about it doesn’t make someone want to buy into your beliefs . . . quite the opposite (directed at Harold). I hope you all have a blessed week and thanks again for opening up the topic at hand.
ps, My physician did not make it even remotely clear that IUD aborts babies . . . but, on the other hand, I guess I never considered it a “live baby” until it was attached to the uteran (sp) wall . . . so there’s some conflicting ideas of what an abortion is in general. I definitely do not group birth control with having a baby mutilated and violently taken from your womb 3 months down the line (even 6 weeks down the line) . . . thats a gross generalization.
Ah, just joining the, er, discussion here!
First off: SO interesting and informative: thanks for sharing your heart!
I am almost always “suspicious” about taking anything synthetic and research the heck out of stuff if I (or my kids) are told we “need” to take any medicine, etc. etc. With that being said, I’d never researched the Pill and had NO idea it had an abortive effect. Man! I don’t take it, though, so I am at least glad of that. Yeah, four kids in three years…clearly I don’t take the Pill:)
But I did understand the nature of IUD’s, etc, and, unfortunately, many pro-life women don’t! I was talking with a dear friend whose dr. had just put her on an IUD and I told her right away how that worked exactly and she was horrified and had it removed right away. Knowledge can really be power, so thanks for educating so women who want to be pro-life can really be so in their “birth control” options.
On a similar vein, did you all know that the Chicken Pox, Hep A and Rubella vaccines were derived from aborted babies whose mothers (and therefore the babies themselves) had the illnesses!? Man, I was horrified when I learned that…Yet ANOTHER reason we don’t have our kids vaccinated with every single one of the “reccommended” vaccines.
Wow, I had no idea! Anja hasn’t had any of those ones (and probably won’t be getting them–same as you, I research everything), but I didn’t know they came from aborted babies. Awful! The things doctors hide…
We fought our pediatrician for three visits before he would “let us” have our way with our own baby’s vaccine schedule. I am SO not for socialized medicine…the government will only continue to get more and more control over our families. Sigh…
Thanks for the info!
I was on the pill for ovarian cysts at age 17. Only after we had been married two years and I had my first baby did I realize that the pill had an abortificant action as well as a preventative action. We practiced Natural Family Planning after that. It was a black and white issue for me. I think that physicians are negligent for not revealing the information to their patients before prescribing the pill. You truly have to be your own health advocate and research issues yourself.
Heidi, wow. You really drummed up not only a heated discussion, but a well deserved well thought honest conversation.
As an off and on practicing Catholic, the belief I was raised with was not to not believe in BC, pre-marital sex or abortion. I absolutely do not consider myself a perfect follower of this belief as I have had two children out of wedlock – one was adopted, and the other is my daughter Mantha. I do not consider myself pro-life because of the following:
I was placed on BCP when I was 12 because I hemmorraghed monthly. I was young and did what my mother told me. It didnt work well for me as I was pregnant at 17. After I had my baby, I was put back on BCP, but never knew how/why it prevented pregnancy. I stopped taking it at 25 because I started worrying about the damage it was doing to my body.
At 26 I was pregnant again. At that time I decided what Gods will would be. I decided abstainance was the best preventative and never went back on any form of BC. I married at 30, had my son shorltly after, and was told I should no longer consider getting pregnant (my kidneys were failing due to severe hyperemisis, and GD). I was given the options of BCP or Tubal Ligation. We chose the latter. Two years later I discovered I had 27 fallopian tube tumors (benign at the time of discovery) and a non HPV form of Cervical Cancer. I had a radical and total hysterectomy and ooferectomy at 33.
Why do I bring this all up in this discussion? I still to this day believe that I caused the damage that was done to my reproductive system. For nearly 10 years I was “advised” to take more than double the normal dose of BCP to prevent the problems I had with menses, but was never told what it really did.
It was after my Cancer and surgery that ended my chances of more children that I started really wondering. So I started researching. I have always held high regard to my anti abortion stance, and was mortified that I had been practicing that precise act for several years. My first born (who was adopted by my aunt and uncle) has practiced abstainence until this point (thank the Lord!), but her mother (my aunt) has suggested several times to her that if she should consider otherwise that she would feel much better about it if Al was on BCP. It took me a long time to get up the guts to have the conversation that I finally had with her:
I firmly believe that BCP is a form of murder, however unintended you may think, it is an abortive method via chemicals. I told her that I would rather have her recommend condoms if she is concerned with Al’s decisions. My aunt was not sure she believed what I said to be true so she researched it more. She was appalled and thanked me emensely for enlightening her. She told me that the conversation would be had with Al, but also felt that she needed to leave it to Al to make the decision for herself.
I have faith that my first as well as second born daughters will have learned from what I have shared, and will agree that it is not God’s will.
But I cannot control the decisions they make as adults. I can only inform them.
Heidi, I absolutely commend you for this post. It is a tough platform that many will never grasp. Even the God faring among us will have their doubts!
lo
Your thoughts are interesting. I was given this book by a teenage church member shortly after it was written in the hopes that I would be convicted as her mother was. The kicker of the book for me was the fact that it was a newly published book and the authors were discussing how wonderful NFP was. YET, they conceived very shortly after they were married. Just didn’t quite mesh. I ALSO find it interesting that the authors of Open Embrace, the Torodes, have RECANTED some of their orginal beliefs about NFP. Check it out–http://www.openembrace.com/ —Interesting.
It is very interesting to find your blog. I agree wholeheartedly with your views on hormonal birth control. My husband and I made the same decision after I stumbled across the fact that we could be killing our babies (some call them embryos, but they are babies) while on the pill. Technically, starving them to death. Since the baby cannot implant in the uterus (because it has been thinned as a result of the hormone changes from the pill), they can not get nurtients in order to grow. That is starving a baby in my book.
Anyhoo, another thing that changed my mind about “the Pill” was learning that it was radical feminists who fought to get the pill available. As a conservative Christian, that fact gave me pause and was one more drop in the bucket of why I didn’t want to take hormonal birth control.
In my experience, breastfeeding has been the most effective natural family planning around. I have a 2 1/2 year old and a 10 month old spaced out by nothing but breastfeeding and God’s timing.
Amy
i just found your website from jennifer. i found jennifer’s from adrienne’s… so the blogging world goes. 🙂
i found something i like even BETTER than nfp – they are VERY similar but there are differences that can really be beneficial. it’s tcoyf, http://www.tcoyf.com, the book is taking charge of your fertility. it is the most informative book i have ever read about my body, my fertility, naturally planning for a family… HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!! (sidenote – they finally came out with a software you can download to easily click in your daily info and it calculates things for you… VERY nice)
i am so glad i just found your “soap box” and agree with you totally!!
Well I read this post back in June after MckMama linked to it… It got me thinking to say the least… About a week later after some research on my own I went off the pill I was on- after finding out it was one of the worst (the Mini-Pill). We were being “careful” for the most part until I could get in to see my OBGYN- in AUGUST. Well one week before my appointment, I got pregnant. So this sweet 14 week old baby growing inside me has youto thank for life- and us and God! 🙂 Thank you for your thought provoking post- I really enjoyed it- and we are so excited for baby #2!
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W.O.W, Heidi.
I agree 100%, we did NFP for years before and in-between our kids.
Interesting how people argue “their opinion” over f.a.c.t.s.?
One thing my doc said when she was trying to talk me into the pill.. 🙂 that sounds convincing, is that the rate of spontaneous abortion naturally (early miscarriage in a woman NOT on the pill) is higher than the rate of spontaneous abortion of a woman on the pill… so therefore, it is acceptable. Does that make sense? It didn’t convince me, obviously, but it was a compelling arguement, I thought…
Great discussion. Thanks for broaching the subject.
Probably at the beginning, I was rather ignorant. I just used a particular pill because I knew a couple other newlyweds using it and they hadn’t had any negative side-effects. Eventually I thought to do a little research and discovered that the pill I was using does not, in fact, cause abortions, it simply prevents the body from ever releasing an egg in the first place.
We’ve discussed this issue A LOT around here since our LG was born and we’ve come this conclusion (while I totally respect what you’re saying): Absolutely ANYTHING two married people (or otherwise) do to try to prevent (in any way) pregnancy, can fairly be labeled ‘birth control.’ It may not mean using a chemical, but it still means preventing birth.
That said, I still consider myself pro-life and we still use a form of ‘birth control,’ though I honestly feel that if God has intentions for us to have children, a condom, IUD, pill or any other method isn’t going to stop Him.
Hey there,
I know you wrote this ages ago – but I was looking up MckMama’s stance on abortion, where she referenced your post. I’ve just read through most of your comments as well. I think your comments are precisely the reason I haven’t said this on my blog. I don’t know that I can keep my cool when answering people’s questions/disagreements.
I have three children (pregnant with the 3rd), and for the most part those pregnancies are all a result of my not being careful with any particular method. But now that I understand my body better (learned NFP after 2nd, before 3rd), I’m pretty confident in my ability to prevent a pregnancy.
I’ll never use chemical BC. I can’t do that to my children. I’ve already lost my son (at 9 1/2 weeks), what kind of mother would I be if I intentionally put my other children in danger!
Someone said to me the other day, “You’re gonna end up having 10 children!” – as though the threaten me. I simply answered, “It wouldn’t bother me.”
It doesn’t bother me. I’m not the most on-top-of my NFP, but I’m okay with that! And I’ll never intentionally put my children in danger, before they’re born or after.
Thanks for having the guts to say all this.
I too found this from MckMama’s blog and felt the need to comment…
I was on the Pill from May 2003 (three months before our wedding as I was told this was the time frame minimum that was needed for the pill to be the most effective) until Jan. 2006. In this time frame my body went from being regular and functioning as it should to so completely irregular and almost 3 years of TTC with no luck! My husband and I attribute it all to the lovely side effects of BCP. if only we had known then what we know now…
My Dr told me that the Pill does not abort a baby but it tricks your body into thinking you’re already pregnant so you will not ovulate. (Not sure how effective it was as all the pills wrecked havoc on my system so I was constantly changing pills to find one that would work until just giving up and seeking out natural methods which is when I found out I’m allergic to latex, so then finding non-latex options! Argh!) After coming off and really learning about the ingredients in the Pills, I’m shocked. I shouldn’t be, but I am. The second ingredient in the majority of the hormonal pills is Progestin. This is a synthetic Progesterone which causes spontanous abortion and if a baby were to survive, causes severe birth defects.
My husband and I have said that I will not be subjecting myself to the Pill again, ever, if we have any say so on the subject!
Thanks for the insight! Now I’ll go read your most recent posts! 🙂
Thank you for spreading the word on this astonishing issue. I have never heard this before and am shocked and disgusted that I was not informed from the beginning about it. I was on the pill from the time I was 14 until I was 26 mainly to try to clear up my skin but I now wonder how many babies I unknowingly let die during that time. I am pro-life and am very passionate about it and I will NEVER take the pill again!
I just found your blog from link from another blog (My Charming Kids). I totally agree with you and wish I would have realized this property of the Pill before I ever used it. I was on it when I was first married for about a year and then again after my 2nd child was born. It wasn’t until my sex drive took a nosedive that I decided to do some research on Yasmin (the brand pill I was on). To my horror, I realized then that it is in fact an abortifacient, not to mention a libido killer.
My husband and I researched and talked long and hard about other types of hormonal birth control, but couldn’t find a single one that didn’t have this property. Sure, doctors will say that it prevents ovulation or creates an environment that’s not conducive to sperm, but skirt the issue of implantation.
I cried a lot and asked God for forgiveness for my ignorance and never took another pill. I did come across FAM (Fertility Awareness Method) and was studying up on it and totally prepared to use it, when we found out we were pregnant with our third child. Funny how things work out. 🙂
I am so glad you started this amazingly important discussion. A few years back, before I got married, I had the brith control discusson with a close Christian friend of mine. She told me that she had found a Christian doctor who informed her that the pill and IUD’s were abortive. I am very thankful to have had this discussion with her. We have now been married over 1 1/2 years, without the use of any birth control other than NFP, and no babies yet! We fully trust God’s plans for our lives and know He will bless us with a child in His timing. Thank you for a great post!
We have used NFP since we married almost 6 years ago. We have two children that are 3 yrs apart. Chemical and surgical forms of birth control aren’t an option for us and we are not planning any additions to our family.
It frustrates me to go to church when every sermon seems to be on having sex three times a week to have a happy marriage and if your husband wants it every night you should oblige. It it weren’t for four different churches preaching this topic, maybe I wouldn’t be so concerned.
Maternal Death Rates and Fetal Death rates would be much higher if it weren’t for research science and medical intervention in both birth control and in the actual birth. To reject all forms of birth control or medical assistance would not be prolife since it would ultimately still cause other deaths. Before birth control, some men used to fear having sex with their wives because pregnancy could cause imminent death in subsequent child birth.
Very interesting topic. Found you via MckMama’s blog. I totally agree with you and think BC is deceiving. Thanks for sharing and encouraging women to GET INFORMED!
I did not read all of the responses, so please forgive me if I relay some information that was already given.
First of all, I have to say THANK YOU for providing accurate information on your blog, despite all the naysayers! I was on the pill for a few months after my husband and I were first married before I did my research. I immediately stopped taking it upon learning of its abortificiant properties.
However, one of the comments I DID read was a response of yours to another commenter. You mentioned that the Bible doesn’t say anything about preventing pregnancy. While I have to agree that it absolutely says NOTHING about that in THOSE EXACT WORDS, there are MANY MANY places where children are listed as a blessing, a gift from God, something to be rejoiced about, accepted, and understood as a great miracle….yet why do we insist that we plan our own families instead of letting our heavenly Father, the giver of all good things and the all-knowing King, give us the blessings He so desires for us?
I realize my position is rather unpopular. “But you’ll have 20 kids!”, “That’s just ridiculous!”, and “How can you afford it?” are phrases we hear ALL. THE. TIME. And I’m not joking. All the time! But my husband and I have come to the conclusion that, if children are indeed a blessing as the Lord says they are, then we are willing to accept as many blessings as He has in store for us!
Will we have 20 kids? We have no idea. We’re currently expecting our 4th and we’re in our mid-20s, so we very well may!
Is it ridiculous? Only if you think that you know what’s best for yourself and completely ignore the fact that God has MUCH better plans in store for you than you could ever imagine!
How will we afford it? Our God shall supply all of our needs according to His riches and glory. We trust that the Lord will give us what we need and He has never let us down yet. Now, that being said, we do live fairly frugal lives, we have no consumer debt, and we are saving saving saving and working on paying off our mortgage so that we are able to accept whatever God has in store for us!
Just my two cents. 🙂
Wow, what an interesting discussion. I stumbled upon this post and am glad I did. I do agree with the posts and the links that clearly, there are abortive qualities of the Pill. It is truly amazing that this little known fact is kept so secret. What a shame for all those who are pro-life. I see that I am a little different than most of you who have replied. Yes, I am a Christian and I believe that God alone will decide when the right time for me to have children is, if I am so blessed. I am also on the Pill and am staunchly pro- choice. However, in my pro-choice view, it is simply that I believe no government should decide what a woman should do. Your faith should dictate that decision alone. For you many pro-life, educated, informed women and men, I applaude you. Thank you for showing me that pro-lifers are not all crazy, women-rights haters! To be Christian is to love thy neighbor as yourself. I hope more doctors out there learn to have the respect for us women and inform us of all effects of the pill. Thanks for your thoughts, I’ve enjoyed reading them.
I am about a year late to this discussion, and truthfully have known this and had this conviction for many years – but was surprised to see all IUDs included in this discussion. I did much research before selecting the copper only IUD because nothing that I read in any research talked about any effects to the uterine lining or implantation. My doctor – who is also a Christian – agreed with my research. Yes – the hormonal IUDs have that affect – but the copper only IUDs only thicken the cervix and kill sperm. If anyone has any information to the contrary – I’d love to see it. Like I said I researched thoroughly before making my decision and it is truly my heart, as a pro-life mom of two, that I not be a part of any unintended abortion of any fertilized eggs. Thank you! I love that this information is getting out there – it is amazing to me how many pro-life people don’t know about this.
Haven’t read all the comments, but since you mentioned not knowing the Biblical reasons against some methods I will send you to a site I really like that will explain it better. http://nfpsite.aldred.org/bbc.php Is one of several sites on the subject I have linked over at my blog.
Very happy to see another post on this subject ( a soap box for me too ) even if I came into it late lol.
Saying you cant be “pro-life” and be on birth control is like saying you DONT support dog fighting or other animal crimes, but you are quick to eat a steak or a chicken.
Also, “surrendering to God”.
Some people read the bible and follow the “rules” 100% and their thoughts, NO BIRTH CONTROL at all…and would call you, yourself not a “true” christian. Or that perhaps wearing jeans and showing too much skin, you are not “surrendering to God.”
I agree 100% to be EDUCATED and read about IUD and the Pill and such, but you CAN NOT tell someone how “wrong” they are for being pro-life and being on birth control.
Great blog. Thanks