Thursday, June 07, 2012

All of the Christian outrage over the "morning after pill" may come down to a misunderstanding of science.

Courtesy of the New York Times:

Based on the belief that a fertilized egg is a person, some religious groups and conservative politicians say disrupting a fertilized egg’s ability to attach to the uterus is abortion, “the moral equivalent of homicide,” as Dr. Donna Harrison, who directs research for the American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, put it. Mitt Romney recently called emergency contraceptives “abortive pills.” And two former Republican presidential candidates, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, have made similar statements. 

But an examination by The New York Times has found that the federally approved labels and medical Web sites do not reflect what the science shows. Studies have not established that emergency contraceptive pills prevent fertilized eggs from implanting in the womb, leading scientists say. Rather, the pills delay ovulation, the release of eggs from ovaries that occurs before eggs are fertilized, and some pills also thicken cervical mucus so sperm have trouble swimming. 

It turns out that the politically charged debate over morning-after pills and abortion, a divisive issue in this election year, is probably rooted in outdated or incorrect scientific guesses about how the pills work. Because they block creation of fertilized eggs, they would not meet abortion opponents’ definition of abortion-inducing drugs. In contrast, RU-486, a medication prescribed for terminating pregnancies, destroys implanted embryos. 

The notion that morning-after pills prevent eggs from implanting stems from the Food and Drug Administration’s decision during the drug-approval process to mention that possibility on the label — despite lack of scientific proof, scientists say, and objections by the manufacturer of Plan B, the pill on the market the longest. Leading scientists say studies since then provide strong evidence that Plan B does not prevent implantation, and no proof that a newer type of pill, Ella, does. Some abortion opponents said they remain unconvinced.

Of course they remain "unconvinced," being convinced would entail opening their minds to new data and letting go of their preconceived set of beliefs, and religious people are completely resistant to that idea.

Besides I think we have learned in the last number of years that this is less about protecting an unborn fetus and much MORE about subjugating women, and reducing them to breeding stock. You know, like God intended.

Any thoughts?

47 comments:

  1. At this point, I think Christianity comes down to a misunderstanding of science.

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  2. Yeah, but they're probably drowning those poor little sperms! Sperms are people too, my friend.

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    Replies
    1. Olivia6:48 AM

      Oh yes, they would result in the demise of "sacred" sperm inside a woman.

      Gryphen is right, it is really all about getting women under control so this misunderstanding isn't going away anytime soon.

      Delete
    2. PL-MN9:01 AM

      Sperms are people too, my friend.

      :)

      Yeah, I can see him saying that line too.

      Plus the USA Tea Taliban bobbleheading their agreement even when they don't otherwise like Mitt.

      Delete
  3. Olivia6:27 AM

    Well that's a big DUH! Isn't that what fundys are all about...misunderstanding science?

    And didn't the Pope just apologize a few short years ago to Galileo? It takes centuries for them to NOT misunderstand science and maybe a few more to overcome the blow to the collective ego.

    That is why it is so important to regard organized religion as a quaint, albeit dangerous and deadly, fossilized relic of the past.

    Just as the light from a very distant star that you see at night took years to reach earth, it takes centuries for most religions to finally acknowledge scientific facts.

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  4. Anonymous6:32 AM

    Personally I don't give a damn about WHAT they think. This is a secular country and all the screaming they are doing merely proves they haven't a clue that is true. Their objections are based totally on their personal RELIGIOUS ideas and beliefs and as such are only important in how THEY act themselves! They DO NOT have any right to say what others may or may not do. They HAVE, but that doesn't mean they have the RIGHT! I would love to see what happens to them if they try to tell a follower of Islam they can't do this or that because it is against Christian ideology!

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  5. Anonymous6:32 AM

    I remember a public health MD discussing this about 20 years ago: she said that when an inexpensive pill can be taken privately to terminate a pregnancy (or a potential pregnancy), this issue will disappear from public discussion. Because then it will have become a truly private matter, requiring only minimal assistance, if any, from an MD. As private (in terms of decision making) as use of Viagra or other meds.

    That day is almost here, as you say, but no one 20 yrs ago considered the possibility of vaginal scans forced upon unwilling women, required by law. Or the attitudes and goals that accompanied the proponents of this viewpoint.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:36 AM

      A couple of days ago a woman went to a hospital after being raped and one of these Xtian dr. REFUSED to RX the plan B pill!

      Sorry I don't have a link. That Dr. should be FIRED! We are a secular nation! We don't have to live under Archaic fundy asshole laws!

      And the fundy Vag scans...lol, I only wish I was younger to tell them where to stick that Vag rape BS!



      Women's groups are strangely silent on this front!

      Why?

      Delete
    2. I remember that story. The case was in Oklahoma if memory serves. As far as ER docs go... your right to your religion ends at my need for healthcare. If you don't like that, don't be an ER doctor.

      Delete
    3. Olivia9:28 AM

      Here is the link.
      http://www.care2.com/causes/oklahoma-rape-victim-turned-away-from-hospital.html#ixzz1wSFn5gPH

      Delete
    4. Anonymous1:39 PM

      Thanks Olivia!

      Delete
    5. Anonymous1:42 PM

      Also,too,
      Remember WHO wanted to charge women for their RAPE kits in ALASKA...?
      (b/c of the plan B plill in there)

      Why little miss screech, herself.
      BITCH PLEASE!!!

      Delete
    6. Anita Winecooler9:22 PM

      Thanks for the link, Olivia, not that I didn't take the original commenter at their word.

      Many states have a "religious objection" clause for pharmacies, that allows the pharmacist to not fill a prescription for Plan B or Birth Control pills, just because THEIR religious beliefs don't allow congregants to use them.
      BUT, as a taxpayer, I have to allow religious communities to hold events and ceremonies in public parks, even if they don't apply for a permit. yet "occupy" get's booted for the same thing, peaceful assembly.

      Delete
  6. Seriously, I thought this was common knowledge that these pills stopped fertilization and didn't count as abortion. Never underestimate the stupidity of RWNJ's in vast numbers.

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  7. Anonymous6:57 AM

    If it makes it hard for the sperm to swim, it's killing them and every one is sacred.

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  8. Anonymous7:31 AM

    OT..Is this Bristol's notice on Craigslist?? Pom/Poodle, weighs 3 lbs??? No collar???http://anchorage.craigslist.org/laf/3059741779.html

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:14 AM

      ENOUGH!! There's a thread for your post, for Dog's sake have some mercy on us not Bristol obsessed folk!! Really, who CARES anymore unless you have no life, no interests besides what Sarah Jr. is doing or saying, GAAHH!!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:03 PM

      11:14..are you done ranting?? OT means Off Topic..which means you don't have to read it just pass it by! (_x_)

      Delete
    3. Anonymous1:30 PM

      Looks like that is for Charlie Palin. Why no picture?

      I hope Bristol's workers find the dog before everyone returns. If anyone had him, they would know right away in a low density area. Someone would call right away , the other alternatives not so good. I also hope Bristol will make the time to study nutrition. Food and especially non foods like sugar can cause serious problems. Not only making one fat, it can impair thinking and judgment processes.
      What is cute in a small child can grow to be so ugly when cravings get out of hand.
      http://tinyurl.com/bristols-tripp-diet

      Delete
  9. It’s all about subjugating women. When Joe Six Pack, who relies on his wife’s income, regurgitates the right wing talking points, say, “What would you do if your wife was pushed out of the workforce because she’s a woman? Do you make enough to support your family by yourself?”

    Such jerks, I ALMOST feel sorry when I hurt them; I’m usually a nice person, but those types get me upset.

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  10. Beldar ViJay Conehead7:47 AM

    Yeah, I'd be a lot more interested in their loopy concepts of conception if they didnt allocate so much of their energy to protecting the diddlers of young boys, diddling young boys and/or trying to get all up inside my grandmother's vagina.

    Elmo's right: every sperm IS sacred....
    www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0kJHQpvgB8

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  11. Anonymous7:56 AM

    This data is far from new. Reproductive health advocates have been fighting since the beginning to stop the misinformation campaign that the morning after pill is an abortifacient (I actually did a hidden camera sting at pharmacies with Leslie Stahl on 60 Minutes many years ago about this very thing). We were just talking into a void, though. Nobody--even reasonable people--seemed to care or want to get involved. While I'm happy to see the fact circulating in the press, I can't help but laugh a little.

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  12. Anonymous8:03 AM

    Why was this and abortion rights never an issue during the 8 yrs Bush was in office?
    Oh yeah, it is ONLY an issue when the GOP stirs up the uneducated masses, especially now that there is a black man in the WH.

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    Replies
    1. JenniferinVA9:07 AM

      The reason this wasn't an issue when Bush was in office was because the repugs didn't need it as a wedge issue to get their base all riled up.
      Also, the fundy/pro-forced pregnancy folks see the success of the teabaggers in getting the party to move to the right of the Taliban, and see this as their time to outlaw abortion. They've begun in the state legislatures and state courts and their goal is to get it in front of the rightwing Supreme Court. They've been waiting a long, long time and are deadly serious about this.
      The repuke party has always used the fundy base on this issue and never delivered. Now the fundy-baggers want payment.

      Delete
    2. Anita Winecooler9:35 PM

      Didn't George W's mom, Barbara (the one who's dog wrote a book, (not the one Laura named after Streisand) have a miscarriage, put it in a jar, and showed young George W what a miscarriage looks like?

      http://tinyurl.com/8yl5up2

      Kinda puts "Ewwww" on Steroids, if you ask me.

      Uggg I got an image

      pass the brain bleach, please?

      Delete
  13. hedgewytch8:04 AM

    Well of course they don't understand science. These people have never sat through a human biology class in their lives (that didn't involve cartoon drawings of flowers and bees). You can't explain something to someone who puts their fingers in their ears and goes "la, la, la," and then tries to "discuss" -tell you how their beliefs trump actual facts. Of course its all about control. There was never any question.

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  14. "...preconceived set of beliefs, and religious people are completely resistant to that idea...." I guess more than anything I disagree with the one word in this phrase that's false.. 'preconceived'..... Their is NOTHING preconceived about these people's view of the world.. It has been force-feed them since day TWO of their lives. Every parental discussion, every school class, every billboard in most open landscapes of our country, every encounter these folks have with ANY form of media and religious organizations is complete and utter brain-washing.

    Social darwinism, straight lies, monetary bribery and age-old massive repression forces rip at the fabric of who we are. We need to call these people out for what they are, what they represent and the highlight the price they will pay for intentionally trying to keep people stupid...

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  15. Gasman8:32 AM

    Febrile anti-abortion types are ignoramus who lack a fundamental understanding of basic facts?

    I'm SHOCKED, I tell you, SHOCKED!

    However, being totally unencumbered by the facts has and will not lessen the amplitude of their buffoonery even by a single decibel.

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  16. ibwilliamsi8:41 AM

    You're preaching to the choir. This is how it was explained when it first came on the market. I've been trying to explain this to people for years.

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  17. PL-MN8:52 AM

    Every time a load of sperm is shot, even into a vagina, ahem, lots of the little swimmers are going to die.

    I proclaim, all sex and procreation is MURDER!

    Chew on that one, USA Tea Taliban.

    Jesus H. Christ (yes, it is me and I'm pissed off).

    :)

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:24 PM

      PL-MN 8:52 AM

      I second that. No wonder the Catholic Church is so down on Master Bates. Every last one of the murdering scoundals should get life for each murder. Hard labor and no luxury prison cells for those homicidal buffons.

      "The average sperm count today is between 20 and 40 million per milliliter in the Western world, having decreased by 1-2% per year from a substantially higher number decades ago."

      1-2% decrease each year. You would think anyone serious about sperm protection would get to the cause of such a huge genocide and save those sperm-people.

      Delete
    2. Anita Winecooler10:13 PM

      All joking aside, this trend is scary if you think about it. It must be something to do with something in the environment.

      I suppose they're not looking into it, because of the uptick in fertility specialists.

      Eggs are like whole numbers, they can't be divided by zero, so I hope they find the cause and address it.

      Do they have a magnetic ribbon for "Save the Swimmers"? ;o)

      Delete
  18. Anonymous8:54 AM

    Why is it that these fanatics DON'T care if girls and women are well-educated, DON'T care if they receive equal pay for equal work, DON'T care if diseases that affect women are less researched than those affecting men, DON'T care if women are always held to a higher standard in their professional lives but DO care what happens in the privacy of their physicians' offices or at the counter of their neighborhood pharmacy!!! And don't get me started on their cavalier attitude toward the innocent victims of rape both within and outside of their relationships. What is between our legs and what is in our hearts are our business and ours alone so keep your grubby, twisted hands off! Your time would be much better spent seeing to it that the children who are here are educated, fed and loved. THIS is what Jesus would have wanted, don't you think?

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  19. LoveAndKnishesFromBrooklyn9:56 AM

    I think we've gotta examine just WHY the Xtain Taliban wants women of childbearing age to reproduce like rabbits in the spring, especially those who are undereducated and over-churched. It's not only to hold them back and keep them occupied with raising a huge brood. A large underage workforce will be needed in the future if the unthinkable happens and we become a full blown corporatocracy with no labor laws. Kids have sharp eyes, don't tire easily, are paid like crap and can stand on their feet continually during those productive 18-hour days. If one drops from exhaustion, there will always be another one ready to take its place. And none of that there pesky skoolin' a-needed! Well, gosh darn! It all makes sound financial sense for the ubër-rich, huh?

    This was the excuse used by the "aristocracy" in defense of young kids working in sweatshops and factories during the last, hideous "Gilded Age."

    /tin foil hat off

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:21 AM

      No - it's simply to punish women for daring to have and enjoy sex without fear of the repercussions of pregnancy.

      Cheap labor has long since been outsourced.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:26 PM

      Cheap labor has long since been outsourced.

      Talk to Todd Palin about that one.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous10:12 AM

    FURTHERMORE, even if there is a slight chance that it does interefer with implantation it still would not be abortion because pregnancy begins AFTER implantation.

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  21. Anonymous11:20 AM

    "Besides I think we have learned in the last number of years that this is less about protecting an unborn fetus and much MORE about subjugating women, and reducing them to breeding stock."

    BINGO.

    The existence of a measure that actually PREVENTS conception taking place after engaging in sex is not the point to the right wing.

    The right-wing wants every woman to be forced to bear every child that resulted from her having sex, regardless. That's how they keep women under men's thumbs.

    There is really no difference between right-wing fundies and the religious nutjobs in Salem 400 years ago. This is the modern version of a witch hanging.

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  22. Dis Gusted11:27 AM

    this is just the beginning - the extreme right movement wants to outlaw all BC pill as abortifacients.

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  23. Anonymous12:32 PM

    You know what is so stupid. A birth costs between 10-20 thousand dollars and if there are complications it's much more. Who is going to pay for all of this? Who's going to pay for all their enforcement of pregnancies? I was watching 16 & pregnant how ( I can't believe how dumb they all are).What I thought was one of these girls would not let the daughter take birth control , this is after sahe has already had 1 baby becauseher mother the girl and bfriend would have sex a lot more. Like I believe they just stopped when the baby was born. I don't know what happened to sense.we can't feed the ppl on this earth now, what will it be like if every woman has 15/ 20 ch it's not impossible.

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  24. Anonymous1:16 PM

    Hello God,

    You created an unbelievably enormous amount of ignorant people who profess to be christians but are filled with hate, intolerance, vengeance and greed.

    Why would you, the omniscient and omnipotent one, do that? One rotten apple and you damned all of humanity and filled the pews with skewed and harmful rhetoric, lies and a whole lot of crazy people--all in the name of God.

    You need a break. Is there a Mrs. God who can help you with this mess?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous2:00 PM

      "God" did not create christians or any other religion, do some research (start with the $ trail) organized religion is but another tool of the elite, those few waaayyy at the top of the ladder who rule the rest of us peons.
      Don't take my word for it, the info is out there if anyone cares to take a look-see.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous2:08 PM

      Politics and organized religion keep us divided, media aids by distorting, concealing inventing and hiding truth.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous3:21 PM

    Anonymous2:00 PM
    "God" did not create christians or any other religion, do some research (start with the $ trail) organized religion is but another tool of the elite, those few waaayyy at the top of the ladder who rule the rest of us peons."

    So you and "the rest of the peons" are ruled? Do you not have free choice, free will? Are you simply acquiescing to the "elite"? Do you have anything else other than your inability to see yourself as the victim?

    The term "God" exists for a variety of religions which is based on the bible. "Christianity" is based on Jesus and his teachings.

    Your knee-jerk reaction to a tongue-in-cheek response is...well, laughable. Do yourself a favor and chill out. It's really not all about you.

    Namaste

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anita Winecooler9:11 PM

    The idea that a fertilized egg is a person is just about as factual as birth control pills equate "lots and lots of sex". I'm always amused at these folk's total lack of knowledge about how a woman's entire body works (especially their brains), the truth about fertilization, gestation and Birth Control.

    Can it be possible that a fertilized egg could naturally not attach and be expelled along with the normal menstrual cycle? Would that be called a "fetal suicide"?
    All Miscarriages could be criminal. I carried a baby full term that died during delivery, never took a breath, to me she was a real child. Was it my fault? And if a fetus is a person, can it vote?
    Your post is absolutely correct, this drum they're beating is to keep women from competing with men or excelling in their careers further than a man. It's about keeping women "corralled" and complacent.

    Not to mention, the more bodies in the pew, the more money they make and the more lives they can recruit into footsoldiers to recruit more. It's like Amway but with a different product.

    And besides, who needs science anyway? It's real and logical, It's hard to learn, and requires actual "thinking".

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous5:12 AM

      I am so, so sorry about your child.

      Peace. And love.

      Delete
    2. Anita Winecooler5:52 PM

      The World is more beautiful because of people like you!

      Thanks for your kindness and understanding,

      Sincerely,

      Anita

      Delete

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