Victor R. Claveau, MJ
The morning-after pill is a hormone-based preparation (it can contain oestrogens, oestrogen/progestogens or only progestogens) which, within and no later than 72 hours after a presumably fertile act of sexual intercourse, has a predominantly “anti-implantation” function, i.e., it prevents a possible fertilized ovum (which is a human embryo), by now in the blastocyst stage of its development (fifth to sixth day after fertilization), from being implanted in the uterine wall by a process of altering the wall itself.[i] The manufacturer, Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. admits that the morning after pill has also been linked to some cases of ectopic pregnancy.[ii]
Fr. Thomas Euteneuer, President of Human Life International (HLI), asserts that Plan B’s ability to cause a chemical abortion is certain: “The truth is that there is absolutely no doubt about how the Plan B pills work. Just ask the manufacturer, Barr Pharmaceuticals, whose product insert states: ‘This product works mainly by preventing ovulation (egg release). It may also prevent fertilization of a released egg (joining of sperm and egg) or attachment of a fertilized egg to the uterus (implantation).’ It’s that third item that makes Plan B an abortion-causing drug. The same can be said for every chemical contraceptive.”[iii]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also recognized the abortifacient nature of Plan B, “If fertilization does occur, Plan B may prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the womb (implantation).[iv]
The side effects associated with Plan B include nausea, abdominal pain, fatigue, headache, menstrual changes, dizziness, breast tenderness, vomiting, and diarrhea. Menstrual bleeding may be heavier or lighter, earlier or later after taking Plan B.[v]
The Vatican document,Statement on the So-called “Morning-after Pill”, stated: “It is clear, therefore, that the proven ‘anti-implantation’ action of the morning-after pill is really nothing other than a chemically induced abortion. It is neither intellectually consistent nor scientifically justifiable to say that we are not dealing with the same thing.”[vi]
The statement condemns its use outright: “Consequently, from the ethical standpoint the same absolute unlawfulness of abortifacient procedures also applies to distributing, prescribing and taking the morning-after pill. All who, whether sharing the intention or not, directly co-operate with this procedure are also morally responsible for it.”[vii]
LifeSite News reported that Brazilian Archbishop Jose Cardoso Sobrinho recently (January 28, 2008) condemned a plan to distribute the morning-after pill during Brazil’s Carnival (Mardi Gras) festival, and warned that those who use the pill are subject to excommunication: “This policy is wicked and immoral, and in this case, both those who use it and those who incite its use are committing a crime punishable by excommunication.” [viii]
[Note: When the ‘morning after pill’ works by preventing implantation, it is abortifacient. Such action provides a basis in canon law for excommunication.]
“The (abortion) excommunication affects all those who commit this crime with knowledge of the penalty attached, and this includes those accomplices without which the crime would not have been committed.” — The Gospel of Life: Evangelium Vitae, #62, Pope John Paul II, March 25, 1995.
The teaching authority of the Catholic Church has definitively resolved this matter. These pills fall into the category of abortifacients, pure and simple. The consistent teaching of our Church on abortion applies here:
“Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law:
“You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.
“God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes” (CCC §2271).
Calculated Annual Infant Homicides of Unborn Babies in the United States of America[ix]
| Users | Type | Infant Homicides | |
| Low Range High Range | |||
| 10,000,000 1,500,000 1,500,000 1,000,000 1,300,000 50,000 | Oral Contraceptives Intrauterine Device Depo-Provera Norplant Surgical Procedure Prostaglandin & Saline | 600,000 3,825,000 1,800,000 330,000 1,300,000 50,000 | 3,000,000 3,825,000 2,700,000 2,100,000 1,300,000 100.000 |
| 15,350,000 | TOTALS | 7,905,000 | 13,025,000 |
Chapter Eleven
“Let your Conscience be your Guide”
“Isn’t a couple’s method of family planning a matter of personal choice?”
This question was answered by Bishop Charles Chaput in his diocesan newspaper after he issued his pastoral letter Of Human Life in 1998:
“Yes, it is. Catholics, like all people, are always obligated to follow their consciences—on birth control and every other matter. But that’s not where the problem lies. The problem lies in the formation of one’s conscience. A conscientious person seeks to do good and avoid evil. Seeing the difference between good and evil, though, can sometimes be difficult. As Pope John Paul II has said, the basic moral law is written in the human heart because we’re created in the image and likeness of God. But we bear the wounds of original sin, which garbles the message and dims our ability to judge and act according to truth.
“Truth is objective. In other words, it’s real, is independent of us, and exists whether we like it or not. Therefore, conscience can’t invent right and wrong. Rather, conscience is called to discover the truth of right and wrong, and then to submit personal judgments to the truth once it is found. Church teaching on the regulation of births, like all her moral teachings, is a sure guide for forming our consciences according to the truth. For we have the certainty of faith, as Vatican II reminds us, that the teachings of the Church on matters of faith and morals are “not the mere word of men, but truly the word of God” (Lumen Gentium, n. 12).
“Too often, we use “conscience” as a synonym for private preference, a kind of pious alibi for doing what we want or taking the easy road. We only end up by hurting others and ourselves.”
[i] Statement on the so-called “morning-after pill” Pontifical Academy for Life, Oct. 31, 2000.
[ii] http://www.go2planb.com/
[iii] Fr. Thomas J. Euteneuer, Plan A: Keep “Plan B” Out of Catholic Hospitals, October 05, 2007
[iv] FDA’s Decision regarding Plan B: Questions and Answers May 7, 2004.
[v] http://www.go2planb.com/ForConsumers/ImportantSafetyInformation.aspx
[vi] http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_academies/acdlife/documents/rc_pa_acdlife_doc_20001031_pillola-giorno-dopo_en.html (3).
[vii] Ibíd., (4).
[viii] http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jan/08012805.html
[ix] Kumar et al.; “Infant Homicides through Contraceptives”; International Pharmacists for Life; 5th edition, 2003.