Today, abortion comes in many forms whether that is taking pills obtained through mail order, going to an abortion facility, or causing induction by an abortifacient. Technology has advanced through the years, allowing women to have easy access to abortion anywhere and at any time. Unfortunately, an abortion can now be done in any trimester, and what many people do not realize is that it can happen before the woman even realizes she is pregnant. This happens often with access to the Plan B pill, which most people can get at any convenience store. This pill is an abortifacient which is defined as “a substance that induces abortion” (Young Women for America [YWA], Sanctity of Life, 35) and is dangerous for all women to take, both for themselves and for the child in their womb.
The Plan B pill, also known as the “morning-after pill,” can be taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex. If there is already a fertilized egg in the woman’s uterus, the pill prevents implantation and any progression of the life of the fetus. In essence, it is an abortion before pregnancy can be detected.
In America today, many people treat sex carelessly and do not consider the consequences that come with a reckless lifestyle. Instead of accepting the blessing of life, they take a pill such as Plan B so they can continue their habits and avoid responsibility. Even married couples may utilize this drug to simply avoid pregnancy.
It’s highly debated whether the Plan-B pill is merely a contraceptive or an abortifacient. Some argue a woman is not yet pregnant when taking the pill, saying that it works just like birth control. However, since this is a 72-hour pill, Ralph Miech in the Ethics and Medics commentary states that within the first 24 hours, the “zygote’s first cellular division occurs, and the resulting two cells become a human embryo.” Since life is formed at the moment of conception, not implantation, this pill should be considered an abortifacient because a fetus is a distinct, living, and whole human being, no matter its stage of development. Peter J. Riga mentions that “the fact that this drug is abortifacient makes it possible that its use will terminate an actual human life and not just act as an impediment to the union of the sperm and the human egg.”
Scripture is clear that life begins at conception. Jeremiah 1:5 tells us before we are born the Lord knows us, and Psalm 139:13 says that He formed our inward parts. Because we are all created by the hand of God in His image, every life from the moment of conception to the point of natural death is valuable and worthy of life, for everyone has a purpose and calling on this earth (YWA, Sanctity of Life, page 6).
The common use of Plan B is despairing, as is any form of abortion. But for believers, we must not lose hope. In his book “Bioethics: A Primer for Christians”, Gilbert Meilaender writes: “More important still: at least for Christians, has been the Christological teaching that in Jesus of Nazareth God has lived and redeemed the entirety of human life, from its very beginnings to the death toward which we all go. He has been with us in the darkness of the womb as He will be in the darkness of the tomb.” We can trust God’s intimate care for every human life. As we consider the lives taken by all forms of abortion, including the Plan B pill, we must be led to pray for the children, the mothers, and for the restoration of this earth, as we rest in the assurance that the Lord will one day return and make all things new, and death will be no more (Revelation 21:4).
*Tori Barber is a Young Women for America (YWA) Ambassador in Kentucky.
