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Wednesday, May 14, 2008
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Exactly Where Does That Logic End?

Pro-Life Wisconsin is now going on a rampage about birth control pills?

In recent years, some anti-abortion advocates have turned their attention to birth control -- not as a means to reduce unplanned pregnancies, but as another target of protest.

One of the most fervent anti-contraception crusaders is Pro-Life Wisconsin, which believes virtually all forms of birth control can cause a "chemical abortion" by preventing an already fertilized egg from implanting in the uterine wall.
...
The protests, under the banner of "Protest the Pill Day '08: The Pill Kills Babies!" are timed to coincide with the 43rd anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision Griswold vs. Connecticut that established the right to birth control for married couples.

A later decision extended that right to single individuals. Both decisions helped establish a recognized constitutional right to privacy, which paved the way for the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.
...
In a flier for the June 7 protests, Pro-Life calls the Griswold ruling "the first of many decisions that led to the culture of death we live in today."

The article goes on to quote statistics regarding the number of women who have used birth control at some point in time in their life which is in the area of 98%.  So clearly the overwhelming majority of people don't share their view.  But I have to wonder what would happen if they got their way here.  What is the next logical step?  Because we know that activist groups aren't ever happy with a victory.  They have to continue to go after something to justify their existence.  So what is next?

Condoms?  After all, that is preventing a sperm that might normally fertilize an egg from doing so.  Although the method of contraception is different ("preventing fertilization" vs "preventing implantation"), the timing and thinking on the part of the individuals is the same.  And after condoms are outlawed, will they go after masturbation next?  Think of all the wasted sperm that never even gets within fighting distance of an egg!  And what about women who abstain from sex during their fertile periods of the month?

Don't get me wrong.  I'm against abortion.  But I think the power of the anti-abortion message of late has been the ability to visualize a real child in the womb as it grows.  Clearly a fetus that is several months past conception is more than just a gathering of random cells.  A fetus in the third trimester is a child... just with a different zip code.  But the farther you go back, the harder it is to justify your reasoning, especially in the case of birth control pills.  While it is technically possible for this "chemical abortion" to occur, the reality is that the majority of pregnancies prevented through the pill are by virtue of preventing the egg from being released at all.

Stick with what works guys... which is going after real abortion.  Leave the rest to the conscience of the individual in the privacy of their bedroom.

# Posted at 2:18 PM by Nick  |  Comment Feed Link 3 Comments  |  No Trackbacks

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Thursday, May 15, 2008 11:26:23 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
Surely this isn't the first moment when you've realized that they're anti-sex at least as much as they're anti-abortion?
Thursday, May 15, 2008 10:04:38 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
I am as pro-life as they come. But the small segment of the pro-life movement that has decided birth control should be outlawed is doing a grave disservice to the rest of the movement. There is not one ounce of scientific evidence that birth control pills cause abortions. There are theories...but they are only theories. These theories are being promoted by the radical fringe of the pro-life movement as if they were fact. This plays right into the hands of Planned Parenthood and the pro-abortion lobby who want to keep the discussion on birth control so they can avoid the abortion issue. It also allows the pro-abortion lobby to paint the entire pro-life movment as a bunch of radicals who want to make birth control illegal. Thank goodness the majority of the movement is keeping the focus where it should be.
GS
Wednesday, May 21, 2008 11:39:00 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
I have to agree with GS. This goes a little far for me.
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