“Years ago, the medical community redefined the beginning of pregnancy from the time of fertilization to when an embryo implants in the uterus.1 Whatever definition you use, the scientific reality is that when the sperm and the egg unite and fertilization occurs, the genetic make-up of a unique human is established: that person is already a he or a she, and their hair and eye color are established.2”
Emergency contraceptives “claim to work by preventing the egg and sperm from meeting. However, they may also work after a new life has formed, by interfering with the embryo’s attachment to the uterus.”
b4youdecide.org
Two doctors date. He likes that she cherishes her motherhood and prizes celibacy until marriage. He buys her favorite bottle and takes her to a fancy hotel out of town. He buys her emergency contraception and takes her to Waffle House on their way back home.
They later marry. They get pregnant. They miscarry. He leaves. She sits with her daughter. Her daughter draws her sister. She says she has blonde hair and blue eyes.
What do you think the doctors each believe about the biology of unborn life? What do you think the daughter believes about her sister? How would you describe the “embryocidal effect” of emergency contraception?
References
1. Gold, R. B. (2005, May 9). The implications of defining when a woman is pregnant. Guttmacher Institute. Retrieved October 31, 2022, from https://www.guttmacher.org/gpr/2005/05/implications-defining-when-woman-pregnant
2. Mayo Clinic (2022, June 03). Fetal development: The first trimester. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/prenatalcare/ART-20045302