By Mike Nichols
Contributor
It’s the political season and there’s a lot of talk here in Wisconsin of late about the most polarizing and controversial of subjects, abortion.
But very little real discussion of when it happens. The answer: much less frequently – in a couple ways – than many people probably think.
Abortions are down dramatically around here, from almost 22,000 in 1980 to 7,249 in 2011, according to a report last month by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
“We can’t feel comfortable about 7,249 abortions in Wisconsin. It’s a huge number,” said Barbara Lyons, executive director of Wisconsin Right to Life. “But we really are very elated that the numbers are so dramatically lower in Wisconsin and compare so favorably to our neighboring states.”
She believes the reduction is due largely to education and counseling efforts, changes in attitude among younger people, and legislation.
I think common sense indicates contraception is also a major factor. But I’m more interested in a specific type of contraception that – if better understood – could constitute a rare patch of middle ground in the abortion battles: the so-called “morning-after” pill.
Lyons says it is really not known how the morning-after pill works and believes it is not “a good idea” to take it. That’s where we part ways.
It’s true that insight into how the pills work has not always been clear, even among scientists. The New York Times pointed out in June that federally approved labels on morning-after pills and respected medical Web sites stated that the pills may work by blocking eggs that were already fertilized from implanting in the uterus. That suspicion, though, appears outdated.
“Studies have not established that emergency contraceptive pills prevent fertilized eggs from implanting in the womb, leading scientists say,” according to the Times. In fact, the National Institutes of Health have recently deleted passages on their website that suggested morning-after pills could disrupt implantation.
Folks who, like me, consider themselves pro-life, were once uneasy about the use of pills some claim are equivalent to abortion. But I’m guessing large numbers are unaware of recent advances in understanding exactly how the morning-after pills, at least the most common type known as Plan B One-Step, actually work.
Studies, interviews with experts and a review of documents from the Food and Drug Administration’s approval process provide convincing evidence that “the pills delay ovulation, the release of eggs from ovaries that occurs before eggs are fertilized,” according to the Times. Some pills “also thicken cervical mucus so sperm have trouble swimming.”
If there is no fertilized egg, there can be no possibility of abortion. Victims of assaults can take the pills in an effort to prevent a pregnancy, in other words, not to end one.
It’s important to note that there are a couple different types of so-called morning-after pills. Plan B pills have been the subject of the most studies. Less is known about Ella, another so-called morning-after pill. RU-486 is a different medication, in the meantime, that destroys implanted embryos – a very different thing than preventing fertilization in the first place.
I asked Lyons if – in the event there is a consensus among the experts that Plan B pills prevent fertilization – she would change her perspective on their use.
“Well, then it would be the same as a contraceptive and we don’t have an opinion or take a position on contraceptives,” she said.
There’s ample evidence that leading experts now believe Plan B morning-after pills do indeed prevent fertilization. Taking them cannot, it follows, logically be equated with abortion.
In fact, science and common sense suggests that more frequent use won’t cause an increase in abortion; it will, as a result of fewer unwanted pregnancies, cause just the opposite – a continuing decrease in abortion that everyone should be happy about.
Mike Nichols is a freelance columnist based in Cedarburg. The opinions expressed here are his and not necessarily of this newspaper or Southern Lakes Newspapers LLC. Contact him at mrnichols@wi.rr.com.
