Originally posted by DASFEX
Originally posted by Tank2/8
The morning after pill does not take a life. It prevents fertilization from even taking place the same way other birth controls do. By denying
people the morning after pill you are greating more of a chance that the person will indeed go through with an abortion
How long do you think sperm stay alive in the womb guy? Christians you understand believe life starts at the moment of conception. Having said that,
why anyone would take a morning after pill BEFORE they have sex is NOT why they call it the morning AFTER. It kills what might be conceived from the
night before. If she wasn't fertile, she wouldn't NEED a morning after pill.
The morning after pill is what they give to rape victims because they don't want to carry the rapists child.
On Aug. 24, 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a form of emergency contraception to be sold over the counter to women ages 18 and
older. The generic name for this contraceptive is levonorgestrel. It's also known by the brand name Plan B.
The female reproductive system is extremely complex and the menstrual cycle involves several different hormones. Here's a simplified version of how
it works:
Shortly after a woman finishes her period, her pituitary gland begins the monthly cycle by secreting FSH, or follicle stimulating hormone. This
hormone tells the ovaries that it is time to prepare a follicle for ovulation.
Image courtesy Georgia Reproductive Specialists
A fertilized egg
One follicle develops and begins emitting the hormone estrogen. Estrogen causes the uterine lining to thicken so that it will be ready to accept a
fertilized egg.
Just before ovulation, the ovaries also secrete progesterone and continue secreting it for about two weeks.
The hypothalamus and pituitary gland sense the level of estrogen rising in the blood. When the level is high enough, the pituitary gland releases
luteinizing hormone (LH). This hormone tells the follicle to release the egg into the fallopian tube. Sperm can fertilize this newly released egg
during a 24-hour window.
If sperm fertilizes the egg during that 24-hour window, and if conditions are right, the fertilized egg implants itself into the thickened uterine
lining and the woman is pregnant. If the egg goes unfertilized or if something prevents implantation, the woman doesn't get pregnant and she begins
menstruating about two weeks after ovulation. Then the cycle repeats.
Although there is only a 24-hour window during which an egg can be fertilized, sperm can live for three to five days inside a woman's body. So if a
woman has unprotected sex three days prior to ovulation, she has a very good chance of getting pregnant. (See How Sex Works for more information.)
You can see from this description that a drug could lower the risk of pregnancy in one of three ways:
It could kill all of the sperm after ejaculation.
It could prevent the fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus.
It could either prevent or delay the release of the egg. Levonorgestrel takes this third path.
What Plan B Isn't
Levonorgestrel is an emergency, or backup, contraceptive. It can help reduce the chance of pregnancy if the woman isn't already pregnant.
Levonorgestrel has no effect on the mother or the fetus if the woman is already pregnant. RU-486, or mifepristone, is a completely different drug that
performs a chemical abortion early in a pregnancy.
When you purchase Plan B, you get two pills. Each pill contains 0.75 milligrams of levonorgestrel. You take the first pill as soon as possible
after unprotected sex, and you take the second pill 12 hours later.
Although scientists aren't completely sure how it works, they believe that levonorgestrel prevents pregnancy either by stopping the ovulation process
or by disrupting the ability of sperm and egg to meet in the fallopian tubes. Some speculate that the drug may prevent the fertilized egg from
implanting as well, perhaps by making the uterine lining less receptive to the egg.
Levonorgestrel does this by disrupting the natural hormonal cycle. It contains a synthetic form of progesterone (regular birth-control pills contain
it in lower doses). The high doses of progesterone in Plan B are disruptive enough to prevent fertilization or implantation.
If ovulation has already occurred, levonorgestrel will be less effective. It will be most effective if it's taken before ovulation. This is why it's
important to take Plan B as soon as possible after unprotected sex. Once a fertilized egg implants, Plan B will have no effect. This explains why
doctors advise women to take Plan B no later than 72 hours after unprotected sex -- the chances of it working are very low at that point.
Because of all these variables, Plan B is not 100 percent effective. But in clinical trials, it has been found to be 89 percent effective.
[edit on 29-6-2009 by Tank2/8]
