A new study finds that levonorgestrel, the drug in Plan B emergency contraception, can possibly act as an abortifacient, at least some of the time.
Unfortunately this news story broke last Friday, when most people had the three day weekend on their mind so it went unnoticed over the weekend. However, NRFC pushed this story into the blogosphere early Monday and it was picked up by several news outlets, courtesy of Prolifeblogs.com. Kudos to PLB!
Anyway, now that it's the morning after this study has been re-reported, one has to wonder if those who swore up and down that Plan B can't cause abortions will concede this point? Don't hold your breath waiting - they have several mechanisms of denial and obfuscation, one of which revolves around the non-scientific definition of conception.
Back in 1965 the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) changed their definition of conception from the moment of fertilization to the moment of implantation. So by this twisted definition, which doesn't hold up to scrutiny, preventing implantation isn't an abortion. Except word games don't change the reality that preventing implantation aborts the development and life of a newly created human.
But it will be interesting to see if these advocates and organizations concede any ground in this debate. Many of them chose to err on the side of death, and this study illustrates how those decisions may have turned out to be deadly.
Here is a partial list of organizations and publications which claim either that Plan B does not actually prevent implantation, or that preventing implantation is not an abortion. Needless to say, they are wrong on both points.
Erring on the side of Death - The Emergency Contraception Hall of Shame
Wrong about Emergency Contraception: Wired Magazine - Plan B: Ignore the Science?
Wrong about Emergency Contraception: University of Minnesota - Emergency Contraception
Wrong about Emergency Contraception: Harvard University Health Services - Emergency Contraception
Wrong about Emergency Contraception: Salon.com -Repeat after me: Plan B is not abortion
h/t Jivin J for prompting the update
