In this article, new Pilgrim’s Progress contributor Derek McCarver, Pharm D., discusses the “so-called emergency contraceptive.” Read on for a pharmacists perspective on this controversial drug.
So-Called Emergency Contraceptive Offers False Path
Plan B bad for women’s health, offspring
By Derek McCarver, Pharm.D.
Plan B® the “emergency contraceptive” approved in August of 2006 has been the center of much debate. Is it a form of “emergency contraception”; is it “just like oral contraceptives (birth control)”? Or is it glorified chemical abortion?
As a pharmacist, I base my view of Plan B on scientific evidence on the mechanism of action of the drug. The mechanism of action is the method in which the drug brings about the desired effects in the body through chemical or physiological changes.
Duramed, the manufacturer of Plan B, names three possible mechanisms for the drugs action. They are: preventing ovulation, possibly preventing fertilization by altering tubal transport of sperm and/or egg, and altering the endometrium, which may inhibit implantation. I personally find their wording confusing. With drugs that list more than one mechanism of action, it means that the proposed mechanisms may work together to accomplish the outcome, or they are unsure of the method that actually occurs in vivo because all are possible. However, Duramed confidently claims that the drug will inhibit ovulation, but implies there may be the slight possibility that Plan B inhibits implantation leading to a chemical abortion. The manufacturer cleverly mentions the drug’s mechanism of action can include preventing implantation of a fertilized egg (aka- human life).
The mechanism of action is really dependent on when Plan B is taken in relationship to the woman’s reproductive cycle and in relationship to time of sexual activity. If the woman has already undergone the ovulation phase (the egg has already been released), the drug can thicken cervical mucous which decreases sperm motility.
This mechanism is possible, but not very probable. The body needs time to respond to the medication and change cervical mucous viscosity. If the drug is taken 24 to 48 hours after sex, the sperm has already begun migration to the fallopian tubes, where fertilization occurs.
The only viable mechanism by which to prevent pregnancy is by altering the endometrium to prevent the fertilized egg from implanting. The embryo is then expelled during the female’s menses, a chemical abortion.
I recently read an informative piece published by the American Life Leagues that accurately breaks down the probability of Plan B causing a chemical abortion. The article states the outcomes as follows:
- EC taken within 24 hours will act 43 percent of the time by killing human being.
- EC taken between 24 and 48 hours will act 57 percent of the time by killing human being.
- EC taken between 48 and 72 hours will act 71 percent of the time by killing human being.
The approval of “emergency contraception” places pharmacists, like myself, in a difficult position. My job as a health care professional is to ensure patients are informed to make good decisions about their health. The manufacturers of EC seem to be spreading confusion and deception about their products. I find their slogans, like “because the unexpected happens”, shallow and demoralizing. Pregnancy isn’t an unexpected “emergency”; it’s biology.
McCarver, who received his Doctor of Pharmacy from Southwestern Oklahoma State University, works for a pharmacy in Oklahoma City.