A high correlation between abortion experience and contraceptive
experience can be expected in populations to which both contraception
and abortion are available ... Women who have practiced contraception
are more likely to have had abortions than those who have not
practiced contraception, and women who have had abortions are more
likely to have been contraceptors than women without a history of
abortion.
Abortion statistician Dr. Christopher Tietze.[1]
Anti-Life Philosophy.
The invention of the birth control pill was the greatest boon of all
time for women. This safe and effective contraceptive enabled them to
finally escape the shackles of their own fertility, and gave them a
degree of sexual freedom that they had never before experienced.
Additionally, the birth control pill prevents hundreds of thousands
of abortions annually, many of them illegal back-alley butcher jobs that
cost thousands of women their very lives every year.
Anyone who opposes the use of the birth control pill and other
fertility control measures is a religious fanatic and a misogynist who
wants to control the bodies of women and confine them to the home.
Introduction.
The Objective: An Abortifacient.
The idea of a "safe and handy" abortifacient is certainly
nothing new. As far back as 1966, Garrett Hardin and other population
theorists were dreaming and hoping that the major
"contraceptive" of the future would be an abortifacient
pill.[2]
The reason for this was obvious: If the Pill initially failed to prevent
pregnancy, it would then work to end it. In other words, the
woman herself would be the abortionist who would deal with
'contraceptive failures' and, the best part (from the anti-lifer's view)
is that she would never actually know whether or not she had
aborted, and so her conscience could remain clear.
The Searle Company developed the first oral contraceptive (OC),
Enovid, in the late 1950s. In keeping with defensive anti-litigation
strategy, the company extensively tested the Pill on Puerto Rican women
before concluding that it was safe for American women to use in 1961.[3]
Eventually, the older, "high-dose" birth control pills gave
way to the new abortifacient "low-dose" pills. Ortho/Johnson
& Johnson, G.D. Searle/ Monsanto, and Syntex, the three largest
manufacturers of OCs in the United States, voluntarily withdrew their
products from the American market in 1988 on the advice of the United
States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These were the last
commercially-available pills containing more than 50 micrograms of
estrogen.[3]
Foreign Product Testing.
Initial experimentation on foreign women is an entirely typical
tactic of the major pharmaceutical companies. They often test their
birth control devices on poor women from developing countries so that
any mistakes or serious health problems are easier to cover up. One
advantage to this tactic is that poor women from foreign countries have
little recourse when their health is destroyed or damaged by this kind
of testing, because the companies bring lots of American dollars to
their homelands, and any agitation against the programs could be easily
suppressed by local governments.
In the opinion of the 'new abortionists,' it is just too bad if their
'guinea pigs' are damaged. However, if the birth control product is
judged safe for American women to use, the product is marketed in the
United States.
If the product is used by American women but later turns out to be
unhealthy despite the initial program of foreign testing, the
pharmaceutical companies flood developing countries with their
abortifacient devices and drugs in the name of "foreign aid"
and "population control." This course of action has been taken
with several IUDs, the injectable abortifacient Depo-Provera, and many
brands of high-dose birth control pills.
For more information on various forms of United States
"contraceptive imperialism," see Chapter 129 of Volume III,
"Overpopulation."
The 'Sexual Revolution.'
The vast majority of women who want to inhibit their natural
fertility now turn to the birth control pill. "The Pill"
became widely used in the late 1960s and was hailed as a panacea and it
also helped fuel the 'Sexual Revolution.' About eight million American
women now use this method of artificial birth control.[4]
Most women in general either do not know or no longer care that all
birth control pills on the market today are abortifacients. In fact, the
introduction of such admitted abortifacients as NORPLANT and RU-486 may
cause the percentage of women using the birth control pill to decline
substantially in the near future in favor of methods that are advertised
as abortifacient in character. It seems that the only thing that matters
to these women is being free of children.
The historically sharp dividing line between birth control and
abortion has well and truly been obliterated by the New Abortionists:
The pharmaceutical companies.
The Pill's General Mode of Action.
Progestin-only contraceptives are known to alter the cervical
mucus, exert a progestinal effect on the endometrium, interfering with
implantation, and, in some patients, suppress ovulation.
United States Food and Drug Administration.[5]
When the female reproductive system is functioning naturally, the
hypothalamus (the part of the brain containing the vital autonomic
regulatory centers) controls the release of gonadotropin-releasing
hormone (GnRH), which signals the pituitary gland to secrete luteinizing
hormone (LH), which in turn assists ovulation and coordinates the
release of estrogen and progestin from the ovaries.
When a woman ingests birth control pills, they literally take over
her reproductive system by brute force. The pills cause the ovaries to
maintain a steady high level of estrogen and/or progestin production,
depending upon the brand of pill being used. The hypothalamus adjusts to
this high level of hormone secretion and essentially shuts off GnRH
production. Therefore, the production of luteinizing hormone by the
pituitary gland is also inhibited, and ovulation ceases or is
drastically curtailed.
The original class of birth control pills contained a high dosage of
both estrogen and progestin, which led to a variety of side effects,
including blurred vision, nausea, cramping, irregular menstrual
bleeding, headaches, and possibly breast cancer.
Beginning in about 1975, the manufacturers of the Pill, in reaction
to adverse publicity generated about the severe side effects caused by
the high-dosage pills, steadily decreased the content of estrogen and
progestin in their products.
The Association of Reproductive Health Professionals and Ortho
Pharmaceutical Corporation now boast that the average dosage of estrogen
in the Pill has declined from 150 micrograms in 1960 to 35 micrograms in
1988.[6]
The Primary Problem With
Pill 'Improvement.'
Woman's Health and Baby's Death.
Users of the "old" high-dosage birth control pills
experienced relatively severe side effects. However, many of these pills
were generally considered non-abortifacient in their two-fold
("biphasic") modes of action. The pills would thicken cervical
mucus and inhibit ovulation, but they would generally not inhibit
implantation of the blastocyst (the five-day old, 256-cell developing
human being) in the uterine lining.
However, the new low-dosage pills are "triphasic." They
have three modes of action; they thicken cervical mucus, inhibit
ovulation, and block implantation. Therefore, the "new"
Pills are all abortifacient in nature.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in its 1984
pamphlet entitled "Facts About Oral Contraceptives," said that
"Though rare, it is possible for women using combined pills
(synthetic estrogen and progestogen) to ovulate. Then other mechanisms
work to prevent pregnancy. Both kinds of pills make the cervical mucus
thick and 'inhospitable' to sperm, discouraging any entry to the uterus.
In addition, they make it difficult for a fertilized egg to implant, by
causing changes in Fallopian tube contractions and in the uterine
lining. These actions explain why the minipill works, as it generally
does not suppress ovulation."
This chapter describes the four basic types of birth-control pills
and their modes of action. Figure 31-1 describes the hormonal contents
of the pills, and Figure 31-2 lists the various manufacturers of the
pills in the United States.
FIGURE 31-1
CURRENT CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF CONCEPTION CONTROL/BIRTH CONTROL PILLS
[A medium text size on your computer's 'view'
setting is recommended, otherwise, the tables may be discombobulated.]
Milligrams
of
Micrograms of
Type of
Pill
Progestin
Estrogen
(1) High-dose
pill
1 to 12
mg
60 to 120 mcg
(2) Low-dose
pill
1 to 2.5
mg
50 to 80 mcg
(3)
Mini-combination
0.5 to 1.5
mg
20 to 35 mcg
(4)
Mini-pill
0.075 to 0.35
mg
NONE
FIGURE 31-2
MANUFACTURERS OF CONCEPTION CONTROL/BIRTH CONTROL PILLS SOLD IN THE
UNITED STATES
High-Dose Pills
Ortho
Ortho Novum 1/80-21 day
Ortho Novum 1/80-28 day
Ortho Novum 2mg-21 day
Searle
Enovid 5mg
Enovid 10mg
Enovid E21
Ovulen-21
Ovulen-28
Syntex
Norinyl 2mg
Norinyl 1/80-28 day
Low-Dose Pills
Berlex
Levlen-21 day
Levlen-28 day
Mead
Johnson
Ovcon-50
Ortho
Ortho Novum 1/50-21 day
Ortho Novum 1/50-28 day
Parke-Davis
Norlestrin 1/50-21 day
Norlestrin 1/50-28 day
Norlestrin 1/50-Fe
Norlestrin 2.5/50-Fe
Norlestrin 2.5/50-21 day
Searle
Demulen 1/50-21 day
Demulen 1/50-28 day
Syntex
Genora 1/50-21 day
Genora 1/50-28 day
Norinyl 1/50-21 day
Norinyl 1/50-28 day
Wyeth
Ovral-21 day
Ovral-28 day
Mini-Combination Pills
Berlex
Tri-Levlen-21 day
Tri-Levlen-28 day
Mead-Johnson
Ovcon-35
Ortho
Modicon-21 day
Modicon-28 day
Ortho Novum 1/35-21 day
Ortho Novum 1/35-28 day
Ortho Novum 10/11-21 day
Ortho Novum 10/11-28 day
Ortho Novum 7/7/7-21 day
Ortho Novum 7/7/7-28 day
Parke-Davis
Loestrin 1/20-21 day
Loestrin 1.5/30-21 day
Loestrin 1/20-Fe
Loestrin 1.5/30-Fe
Searle
Demulen 1/35-21 day
Demulen 1/35-28 day
Syntex
Brevicon-21 day
Brevicon-28 day
Genora 1/35-21 day
Genora 1/35-28 day
Norinyl 1/35-21 day
Norinyl 1/35-28 day
Tri-Norinyl-21 day
Tri-Norinyl-28 day
Wyeth
Lo/Ovral-21 day
Lo/Ovral-28 day
Nordette-21 day
Nordette-28 day
Mini-Pill
Ortho
Micronor
Syntex
Nor-Q.D.
Wyeth
Ovrette
Religious Aspects of Birth Control.
The evolution of the birth control pill from pure contraceptive to
frequent abortifacient poses important questions to pro-life activists.
Many women (including pro-lifers) who would never even consider
a surgical abortion now use low-dose birth control pills that cause them
to abort on an average of once or twice every year. A large number of
pro-life women use these pills, and these are usually the women who
cannot seem to make the connection between contraception and abortion in
their minds.
These women and their husbands are employing a self-defense mechanism
known as denial, and this eventually causes their entire pro-life
philosophy to unravel. Ironically, the average pro-abortion woman has at
most two or three surgical abortions during her childbearing years,
while the average 'pro-life' woman on the Pill for ten years aborts at
least ten times.
Some researchers (using very conservative figures) have calculated
that the birth control pill directly causes between 1.53 and 4.15
million chemical abortions per year between one and two and a half
times the total number of surgical abortions committed in this country
every year![7]
'Catholics' for a Free Choice plays upon this theme constantly. It
conducts well-publicized 'surveys' that purport to show that 75% to 80%
of all Catholic women are on the Pill. Knowing how little CFFC regards
the truth, it is not surprising that this number is an exaggeration.
Nevertheless, the actual figures are still distressingly high.
The 1988 National Survey of Family Growth, conducted by the National
center for Health Statistics, surveyed thousands of married Catholic
couples of childbearing age and found that;
• 40 percent of Catholic women use the pill;
• 16 percent of the women had been neutered;
• 9 percent of the men had been neutered;
• 8 percent use some other artificial method of conception
regulation;
• 2 percent use some form of natural family planning; and
• the remaining 25 percent use no form of fertility control, because
they are
either naturally infertile or are attempting to get
pregnant.[8]
The Catholic Church has recently expanded its definition of abortion
to include new drugs and surgical procedures. This expansion has not
been necessary until this time because such abortifacient drugs and
procedures simply have not existed until recently, and their invention
has created a new 'grey area' that needed to be clarified.
The Pontifical Commission for the Authentic Interpretation of the
Code of Canon Law, on November 24, 1988, stated that abortion is not
only "the expulsion of the immature fetus," but is also
"the killing of the same fetus in any way and at any time from the
moment of conception."
This definition of abortion includes the use of any of the following;
• all birth control pills, because every birth control pill
manufactured
today causes early abortions part of the time;
• mini-pills, morning-after pills, and true abortion pills such as
RU-486;
• injectable or insertable abortifacients such as NORPLANT and
Depo-Provera; and
• the use of all intrauterine devices (IUDs), which are all
abortifacients and
act by preventing the implantation of the
already-fertilized zygote.
The Four Types of Pill.
Overview.
There are currently four types of birth control pill manufactured in
the United States. These are the high-dose pill, the low-dose pill, the
mini-combination pill, and the 'mini-pill.'
These pills and their modes of action are described in the following
paragraphs.
The High-Dose Pill.
The high-dose pills, which have generally fallen out of favor in this
country, contained from 1 to 15 milligrams of progestin and/or 50 to 120
micrograms of estrogen, a natural female hormone. Essentially, they
functioned by making the woman's body 'think' that it was continuously
pregnant.
The high-dose pills were primarily biphasic. Their primary mechanism
involved the suppression of gonadotropin production and therefore
ovulation. They also caused changes in the consistency and acidity of
cervical mucus, making it more difficult for sperm to penetrate and live
in the cervix. Finally, they occasionally caused certain changes in the
environment of the endometrium, making implantation more difficult.
When the high-dose Pill functioned via this last mechanism, it was an
abortifacient if the woman experienced a 'breakthrough' ovulation.
Although this occurred only during about 1 to 12 percent of all cycles,
it was not the primary intent of the manufacturers.
These pills have, for the most part, been pulled from the United
States market due to their dangerous side effects. Naturally, they are
still dumped relentlessly on poor women in developing countries. The
fact that these same side effects are being inflicted upon women outside
our country means little to the manufacturers or to so-called
"women's rights" groups.
The Low-Dose Pill.
The low-dose biphasic and triphasic pills function in essentially the
same manner as the high-dose pill. However, a much higher percentage of
ovulation occurs in women who use the low-dose pills. This means that
women who use these pills frequently conceive, and the low-dose pills
prevent implantation of the new human individual, thereby acting more
often as true abortifacients. Some pro-abortionists will try to deny
this abortifacient action. In such cases, we must ask them why they so
fanatically oppose a Human Life Amendment partially on the grounds that
it would allegedly outlaw the Pill as being abortifacient.
The Mini-Combination Pill.
These pills also function by inhibiting ovulation and causing changes
in cervical mucus. However, their primary mode of operation is
abortifacient, because they prevent implantation by causing changes in
the endometrium (the uterine lining).
The Mini-Pill.
The primary mechanism of these pills has not been pinpointed,
although women who use them almost always ovulate. Therefore, these
pills function primarily as abortifacients.
It is known that pills which contain only progestin alter the
cervical mucus. They also interfere with implantation by affecting the
endometrium and suppressing ovulation in some patients by reducing the
presence of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH).
This mechanism is confirmed by the United States Food and Drug
Administration (FDA), which stated that "Progestin-only
contraceptives are known to alter the cervical mucus, exert a
progestinal effect on the endometrium, interfering with implantation,
and, in some patients, suppress ovulation."[5]
The manufacturers of the minipills also acknowledge this mode of
action. For example, Syntex Laboratory spokesman Russ Wilks announced
that its progestin-only Pill "... did not interfere with ovulation
... It seems to affect the endometrium so that a fertilized egg cannot
be implanted."[9]
In other words, the Pill is now truly "birth control" not
conception control, as was originally intended.
Direct Effects of the
Pill.
Pregnancy.
Most people would intuitively expect that the massive distribution
and use of the birth control pill would drastically cut down on the
number of "unwanted pregnancies" in this country.
However, research by leading population experts has proven just the
opposite.
The manufacturers of the Pill and the medical community have touted
the drug as virtually invincible for more than a quarter of a century.
It is therefore quite natural for women to believe that they are immune
from pregnancy when they ingest it.
This attitude of 'invincibility' naturally leads to carelessness in
the use of the Pill.
Only about 11 percent of all women who use the Pill do so correctly,
according to researcher Deborah Oakley of the University of Michigan at
Ann Arbor in a 1989 study.[10]
This sloppiness is the major contributor to an incredible number of
unintended pregnancies, especially among younger women. There are about
630,000 pregnancies annually among women who are on the Pill, and more
than 80 percent of these pregnancies occur among women who are 15 to 24
years old.
Among women 15 to 24 years, old, the method effectiveness of the
birth control pill is 96.2 percent per year. This sounds very good
indeed; but the method effectiveness refers to the efficiency of the
Pill when a woman is in very good health and uses the Pill without
error. When user error is factored in, the result is the actual user
effectiveness rate, also referred to as the overall effectiveness
rate.[10]
Dr. Christopher Tietze has defined the user effectiveness rate as
"Performance under real life conditions, including any accidental
pregnancies during regular or irregular use of the method under study by
excluding pregnancies following discontinuation of contraception
or adoption of another method."[11]
The overall effectiveness rate for the low-dose Pill is 89 percent
per year. This still sounds good until a person calculates the
probability of a woman of 15 to 24 years of age becoming pregnant over
an extended period of time when using the Pill, as shown below.
PROBABILITY OF PREGNANCY AMONG WOMEN USING THE BIRTH CONTROL PILL
Period of Pill
Use
Probability of Pregnancy
6
months
5%
1
year
11%
2
years
21%
3
years
30%
5
years
44%
7
years
56%
10
years
69%
In summary, if a girl of 15 who is fornicating begins to use the
pill, and uses it without cease, there is a better than 50 percent
chance that she will become pregnant by the time she is 22!
This statistic is even backed up by the pro-abortionists. Planned
Parenthood biostatistician Dr. Christopher Tietze said that "Within
10 years, 20 to 50 percent of pill users and a substantial majority of
users of other methods may be expected to experience at least one repeat
abortion."[12]
Note that Tietze is speaking about repeat (second or greater)
abortions here.
These are the young women that sidewalk counselors see in droves,
trooping into the abortion mills with bemused expressions on their faces
and saying "It's okay because my birth control failed!"
These rates are in line with Alan Guttmacher Institute figures that
show that half of all abortion patients in 1987 were practicing
contraception during the month in which they conceived, and a
substantial proportion of those who were not doing so had stopped using
a method only a few months before becoming pregnant.[13] The majority of
abortion patients who had stopped using a method prior to becoming
pregnant said they had most recently used the pill.[13]
Naturally, these and other statistics are never divulged by those who
operate school-based clinics or who push comprehensive sex education
programs in our public schools.
For further statistical information on the failure rate of the Pill
and other contraceptive methods, see Chapter 99 of Volume III,
"Contraceptive Effectiveness."
Unsafe At Any Speed.
According to United States Federal courts, the birth control pill has
been classified as "unavoidably unsafe."[14] This means that,
implicit in a woman's consent to use the pill, even if she is not
entirely informed of its dangers, is an acknowledgement of physical
risk.
This legal classification means that women damaged by the Pill have a
much harder time recovering damages. Dr. John Hildebrand, an expert in
the field, estimates that more than 500 women die every year because of
pill-induced effects. This startling number is confirmed by figures
provided by the Alan Guttmacher Institute (the world's foremost
abortions statistics analyzer) and one of the foremost abortionists in
the United States, Warren Hern, as shown below.
It is ironic indeed that the same pill that the Neofeminists pushed
so hard as part of their solution to 'excessive illegal abortion deaths'
now kills five times as many women per year as illegal abortions
themselves did before Roe v. Wade.
CALCULATION OF ANNUAL DEATHS ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE BIRTH CONTROL
PILL
Annual
Deaths
Deaths
Age
Per 100,000
Users
Users In Age
Group
Nonsmoker
Smoker
(1000s) Group
15-24
0.7
2.8
4,735 99
25-34
1.7
10.2
3,359 247
35-44
18.2
80.0
345 205
Total Annual
Deaths
551
Backup Calculations: See footnote.[15]
Cardiovascular Impacts.
The most dangerous and well-documented side effects commonly
associated with the Pill are heart attacks and strokes. The eight-year
Nurse's Health Study at Harvard Medical School found that Pill users are
250 percent as likely to have heart attacks and strokes than those who
don't use the Pill, probably because the Pill excessively increases
blood clotting ability.[16]
However, one of the major findings of the study was that women who
get off the Pill have rates of cardiovascular disease equal to that of
the general population after a period of one year.
Breast Cancer.
The Fertility and Maternal Health Drugs Advisory Committee is a panel
of medical experts that meets to advise the Commissioner of the United
States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on matters regarding drugs
that disable the female reproductive function. Its advice is
non-binding, but does influence the FDA to a certain extent.
The committee evaluated a study by Dr. Clifford R. Kay of the Royal
College of General Practitioners of Manchester, England. Kay studied
46,000 women, half of which were Pill users and half of which were
non-users. He found that Pill users were more than three times more
likely to develop breast cancer than non-users between the ages of 30
and 34. Kay stated that the Pill may not have been a contributing factor
to the increases in cancer because of its long latent period, but that
the Pill may "accelerate" the process if it had already begun.
He also said that it was "absolutely critical" that these
studies continue, and if they showed a clear connection between the Pill
and cancer, that it would be a "devastating condemnation" of
the drug.
A second study by researchers at the Boston University School of
Medicine, the University of Pennsylvania, and New York's Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, completed in 1988, showed that the longer
women took the pill, the greater their chances of contracting breast
cancer. The risk of developing breast cancer was found to be twice as
great by age 45 for women who had used the Pill for less than ten years
and four times as great for women who had used the Pill for greater than
ten years.
Another 1988 study by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta,
reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration, found that women who had
never had children and who began menstruating before the age of 13 had
an increased risk of breast cancer depending on how long they had used
the pill.
FDA Reactions.
Despite being presented with the results of these and many other
studies, a special Food and Drug Administration panel said in early 1989
that the data was "not conclusive," and refused to place new
warning labels on oral contraceptives.[17]
We must remember that the Pill manufacturers have a huge stake in
obscuring the results of studies that show that the Pill is harmful and
this stake is not only monetary but philosophical, in that it supports
their population control agenda.
Indirect Impacts of the
Pill.
Introduction.
The direct results of the Pill, as described above, include many
thousands of dead or injured women over the last quarter century. The
indirect impacts of the Pill are much more diffuse but even more
damaging to society in general. The Pill indirectly impacts not only
women, but men and children as well.
The Pill cannot be assigned all of the blame for these damaging
effects. However, since it is a more popular birth control method than
any of the other artificial means, it must bear a large portion of the
responsibility for sexual promiscuity, the increase of illegitimate
births, the explosion of venereal diseases, and the degradation of
marriage, as described in the following paragraphs.
Indirect Effect: Increased Promiscuity.
It goes without saying that the wide availability a drug like the
birth control pill would appeal strongly to those persons with no
particular sense of sexual ethics.
After the Pill was introduced in the mid-1960s, fornication and
'shacking up' both almost doubled in a period of only five years. This
behavior also increased steeply when abortion was legalized in 1973.
People of all ages (but especially teenagers) are fornicating more
than ever before. Wife-swapping clubs, sex addiction treatment
organizations, hard-core pornography, and 'fantasy [sex] tours' to Far
East nations have increased tremendously.
Even the original developers of the birth control pill now
acknowledge that their invention has led to widespread promiscuity. Dr.
Robert Kirstner of Harvard Medical School said that "For years I
thought the pill would not lead to promiscuity, but I've changed my
mind. I think it probably has."[18]
And Dr. Min-Chueh Chang, one of the co-developers of the birth
control pill, has acknowledged that "[Young people] indulge in too
much sexual activity ... I personally feel the pill has rather spoiled
young people. It's made them more permissive."[19]
Dr. Alan Guttmacher, former director of the International Planned
Parenthood Federation, also drew a clear picture of the connection
between abortion and contraception within the context of increased
promiscuity; "When an abortion is easily obtainable, contraception
is neither actively nor diligently used. If we had abortion on demand,
there would be no reward for the woman who practiced effective
contraception. Abortion on demand relieves the husband of all possible
responsibility; he simply becomes a coital animal."[20]
Finally, psychologists Eugene Sandburg and Ralph Jacobs noted the
obvious connection between contraception and abortion as birth
control; "As legal abortion has become increasingly available, it
has become evident that some women are now intentionally using abortion
as a substitute for contraception."[21]
Dr. Min-Chueh's quote, above, showed that he was certainly correct in
his assessment of the situation. In 1970, only 4.6 percent of all girls
aged 15 had fornicated before marriage. In 1990, this rate had increased
more than sevenfold to 33.1 percent. Of all unmarried girls in the 15 to
19 age bracket, 28.6 percent had fornicated in 1970. This rate had more
than doubled to 61.4 percent by 1990.[22]
Indirect Effect: Illegitimate Births.
The inevitable result of the combination of increases in fornication
and of 'unwanted pregnancy' is obviously an increase in illegitimate
births.
Professor Kingsley Davis of the United States Commission on
Population Growth and the American Future states that "The current
belief that illegitimacy will be reduced if teenage girls are given an
effective contraceptive is an extension of the same reasoning that
created the problem in the first place. It reflects an unwillingness to
face problems of social control and social discipline, while trusting
some technological device to extricate society from its difficulties.
The irony is that the illegitimacy rise occurred precisely while
contraceptive use was becoming more, rather than less, widespread and
respectable."[23]
The illegitimacy rate for births among teenaged girls hovered around
five to seven percent for decades, until about 1960. Between 1960 and
1970, it doubled as the birth control pill helped usher in the 'Sexual
Revolution.' After 1970, the teenage illegitimacy rate literally
exploded as comprehensive sex education programs and school-based
clinics were introduced.
The overall illegitimacy rate for all children born in the United
States was 5 percent in 1960. This rate has more than quintupled to more
than 28%.[4]
This phenomenon is not just an ethical or religious concern: It is a
profoundly practical one. It is common knowledge that children born into
one-parent families are more likely to be abused and abusive, are much
more likely to be undereducated and underemployed, are much more likely
to have illegitimate children themselves, and are much more prone to
criminal activity.
Indirect Effect: Increased Venereal Diseases.
Because it is not a 'barrier method,' the birth control pill does
absolutely nothing to halt the spread of venereal diseases. Quite the
contrary: it has contributed greatly to promiscuity, and venereal
diseases have exploded as a result.
In 1920, VD was concentrated in a very small segment of the
population: Prostitutes, a few promiscuous sodomites, and a small
percentage of men (and sometimes women) who had the financial means to
seduce a succession of sexual partners.
Only twelve sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs) were catalogued in
1920, and seven of them were rare indeed. Today, there are over 50
recognized strains of STD, and more are being created and discovered
every year.
AIDS was nonexistent in 1920, and now it has killed more than 125,000
people in the United States alone.
Dr. V. Livingstone, in her mid-1940s public health work in New York
and New Jersey, noted that virtually all long-time prostitutes had
contracted cervical cancer from almost continuous sexual activity. Now,
fifty years later, there is an incredible rise in the nationwide
incidence of cervical cancer among promiscuous young women who are not
prostitutes.[24]
Herpes used to be rare in this country, but now more than three
million Americans are infected, with 300,000 more joining the ranks of
the 'elect' every year. Symptoms include flue-like indications after
about a week. The virus usually resides near the spinal cord, and
returns to the site(s) of infection at fairly regular intervals, causing
successive rounds of symptoms to occur. Genital herpes is very easily
transmitted, is incurable, and changes a person's entire lifestyle until
the day he or she dies.
The incidence of genital warts (Condyloma), which are caused by human
papillomavirus (HPV), has increased by a factor of 800% since the birth
control pill came into wide use. The latent period ranges from a month
to a year, so a newly-infected person may transmit the virus very easily
before realizing he is diseased. The infected person must usually
undergo repeated treatments involving cauterization, laser burning, or
use of powerful drugs such as podophyllin or trichloroacetic acid.[24]
Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is not an STD, but is commonly
caused by gonorrhea, chlamydial infection, and other STDs. It is a broad
term referring to a group of infections that lodge in the uterus,
ovaries, and Fallopian tubes. About 15 percent of all women will suffer
from PID at some point in their lives, and 1 million new cases are
reported each year.
PID is a serious matter.
About one-fourth of all outbreaks are severe enough to warrant
hospitalization, and about 150 women die of PID each year. PID causes
half of the 60,000 annual cases of ectopic (tubal) pregnancies in the
United States. Tubal pregnancies account for about ten percent of all
pregnancy-related deaths, and its incidence has tripled since 1965. The
primary cause of this increase in PID has been the increase of gonorrhea
and chlamydia.[24]
In conclusion, the rate of infection with various venereal diseases
is greater today than it ever has been in the United States. A large
percentage of the blame for this explosion of diseases must be laid
squarely on the doorstep of the inventors and peddlers of the birth
control pill.
Rolling Stone Magazine had it right for once when it declared in
a March 4, 1982 editorial that "Some wrathful deity is extracting
revenge for our decade-long orgy."
Indirect Effect: Degradation of Marriage.
Anyone who alleges that the Pill has 'damaged the institution of
marriage' is liable to be met with hoots of derision from knee-jerking
Neoliberals.
But we should look at the facts supporting this conclusion before
dismissing it out of hand.
In 1965, before the Pill became widely available, about 15 percent of
all couples lived together before marriage. The major reason for the
relatively low incidence of this arrangement was simple: Living together
meant more sex, and more sex meant a greater chance of a pregnancy in a
nation where abortion was still illegal.
Today, many young unmarried women are on the Pill. They therefore
have no reason not to fornicate freely and cohabit before
marriage if they feel like it.
As a result, more than 40 percent of all couples in the United States
now live together ('shack up') before marriage. Their reason: They want
to make sure that they're "compatible." They don't want to
rush into something that might not work and cause pain for everyone
involved. They say that it's best to have a trial run first. Just to
make sure, you see.
Sound sensible?
Of course it does! Is it sensible? Of course not!
In 1989, James Bumpass, James Sweet, and Andrew Cherlin of the
University of Wisconsin completed a long-term study to determine the
effect of prenuptial cohabitation on marriage. Their findings showed
that more than 75 percent of all couples who lived together
before marriage eventually divorced. This is a rate of more than 50
percent greater than the general population![25]
Why is this?
There are two primary reasons;
(1) Those people who 'shack up' are less traditional in their
values. True commitment and a willingness to 'work at it' are far more
important to the success of a marriage than a self-serving
"fling." Obviously, many of those who 'shack up' initially
do not intend to get married.
(2) Those who have 'shacked up' are naturally far more likely to
commit adultery in marriage than those who haven't. This makes sense
adultery is, like fornication, a tangible result of lack of discipline
and self-control. Those who get used to "serial monogamy"
before marriage see no reason why they can't continue to practice it
after marriage.
So it is obvious that the Pill has contributed greatly to our
country's exploding divorce rate, which was about 18 percent in 1965 and
now stands at about 50 percent.
Unfortunately, the innocent children of divorced couples are always
those who suffer the most. But the Neofeminists and sexologists simply
write them off as sort of "casualties of friendly fire,"
inevitable victims of the Sexual Revolution and the war against one's
own sexuality. According to the 'sexperts,' there can be no impediment
to the rush for self-gratification, self-indulgence, self-actualization,
or self-destruction not even children, regardless of whether they are
born or preborn.
References: The Birth Control Pill.
[1] Dr. Christopher Tietze. "Abortion and Contraception." Abortion:
Readings and Research. Butterworth & Company, Toronto, Canada.
1981, pages 54 to 60.
[2] Garrett Hardin. "The History and Future of Birth
Control." Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, Autumn 1966.
[3] Bogamir M. Kuhar, Ph.D. "Pharmaceutical Companies: The New
Abortionists." Reprint 16 from Human Life International, 7845-E
Airpark Road, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20879.
[4] United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.
Reference Data Book and Guide to Sources, Statistical Abstract of the
United States. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing
Office. 1990 (110th Edition), 991 pages. Table 56, "Unmarried
Couples Living Together," Table 96, "Births By Status of
Mother), Table 99, "Contraceptive Use By Women, 15-44 Years Old, By
Age, Race, Marital Status, and Method of Contraception: 1982," and
Table 127, "Marriages and Divorces."
[5] Federal Register, 41:236, December 7, 1976, page 53,634.
[6] Advertisement by the Association of Reproductive Health
Professionals and Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation in Hippocrates
Magazine, May/June 1988, page 35.
[7] Fertility and Sterility, 48:3, 1987, pages 409 to 413.
Also see Van der Vange, Contemporary Obstetrics, ed. Chamberlain,
1988. Also see Population Studies, 23, 1959, pages 455 to 461.
[8] Catholic News Service. "Most Catholic Women Ignore
Church-Accepted Form of Birth Control." The [Portland, Oregon] Catholic
Sentinel, January 24, 1992, page 7.
[9] United Press International release in the Cincinnati Post,
January 11, 1973.
[10] Kim Painter. "Most Users of the Pill Don't Follow
Directions." USA Today, February 21, 1990, page D1.
[11] Christopher Tietze and Stanley Lewit. "Statistical
Evaluation of Contraceptive Methods." Clinical Obstetrics and
Gynecology, 17:121-138 (1974).
[12] Christopher Tietze, quoted in the National Abortion Rights
Action League's A Speaker's and Debater's Guidebook. June 1978,
page 24.
[13] "The Characteristics Of, and Prior Contraceptive Use of
U.S. Abortion Patients." Alan Guttmacher Institute, Family
Planning Perspectives, July/August 1988, page 158. As described in
"Pro-Abortion Forces Confirm Contraceptive Failure." Life
in Oregon (newsletter of Oregon Right to Life), May 1989, page 6.
[14] Thomas P. Monaghan, Co-Chairman, Free Speech Advocates.
"Unavoidably Unsafe." Fidelity Magazine, October 1987,
pages 14 and 15.
[15] These calculations assume that one-fourth of all women in each
age group are smokers. Death rates are obtained from Warren Hern. Abortion
Practice. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1990, 340 pages.
Page 45. From H. Ory. "Mortality Associated with Fertility and
Fertility Control: 1983." Family Planning Perspectives,
15:57, 1983. The number of pill users by age group is from Bureau of the
Census, United States Department of Commerce. National Data Book and
Guide to Sources, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1990
(110th Edition). Table 99, "Contraceptive Use By Women, 15-44 Years
Old, By Age, Race, Marital Status, and Method of Contraception:
1982."
[16] Dr. Meir J. Stampfer. New England Journal of Medicine,
November 24, 1988. This study was based on an eight-year followup of
119,061 female nurses, ranging in age from 30 to 55 in 1980. 7,074 were
current pill users and 49,269 were previous users. Overall, there were
380 heart attacks, 205 strokes, and 230 cardiovascular deaths among pill
users.
[17] Marlene Cimons, LA Times-Washington Post Service. "New
Warning Labels Ruled Out for Oral Contraceptive Pills." The
Oregonian, January 6, 1988, page A14.
[18] Dr. Robert Kirstner, Harvard Medical School, one of the original
developers of the birth control pill. Quoted in ALL About Issues,
June 1981, page 5.
[19] Dr. Min-Chueh Chang, one of the inventors of the birth control
pill. Quoted by Charles E. Rice. "Nature's Intolerance of
Abuse." ALL About Issues, August 1981, page 6.
[20] Dr. Alan Guttmacher in a discussion at the Law, Morality and
Abortion Symposium, held at Rutgers University Law School, March 27,
1968. Rutgers Law Review, 1968(22):415-443.
[21] Eugene C. Sandburg, M.D. and Ralph I. Jacobs, M.D.
"Psychology of the Misuse and Rejection of Contraception." American
Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, May 15, 1971, pages 227 to
237.
[22] "The US Family Staggers Into the Sexy Secular Future."
Family Research Newsletter, January-March 1991, page 1, Table 1
entitled "Percentage of Women Aged 15-19 Who Reported Having Had
Premarital Sexual Intercourse, By Race and Age United States,
1970-1988." Numbers from 1988 to 1992 linearly extrapolated using
1985-1988 rates.
[23] Professor Kingsley Davis. "The American Family, Relation to
Demographic Change." Research Reports, United States
Commission on Population Growth and the American Future. Volume I, Demographic
and Social Aspects of Population Growth, edited by Robert Parke,
Jr., and Charles F. Westoff. Washington: United States Government
Printing Office, 1972, page 253.
[24] Julia Kagan. "Sexual Freedom: The Medical Price Women are
Paying." McCall's Magazine, May 1980, page 104. Also see
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Committee on
Patient Education. Patient Education Pamphlets Nos. P-009
("Sexually Transmitted Diseases"), P-054 ("Genital
Herpes"), P-073 ("Genital Warts"), and P-077
("Pelvic Inflammatory Disease"). Also see Marsha F. Goldsmith.
"Sexually Transmitted Diseases May Reverse the 'Revolution.'" Journal
of the American Medical Association, April 4, 1986, pages 1,665 to
1,672.
[25] Dale Vree. "Hey, it Sounds Plausible." National
Catholic Register, May 7, 1989, page 5.
Further Reading: The Birth Control Pill.
Nona Aguilar. No-Pill, No-Risk Birth Control.
New York: Rawson, Wade Publishers, 1980. 235 pages; paperback,
hardback. Reviewed by Edward F. Keefe in the Spring 1980 issue of the International
Review of Natural Family Planning, pages 81 to 84, and by Rose
Fuller on pages 177 to 179 of the Summer 1986 issue of the same
publication. This book extols the virtues of natural family planning
while explaining the "shocks" to the system of sterilization
and the various methods of artificial contraception. A good 'theory'
book.
American Life League. "The Birth Control Game: Gambling with
Life."
Order from American Life League, Post Office Box 1350, Stafford,
Virginia 22554. How IUDs and the birth control pills work by killing new
human life.
Bernadell Technical Bulletin.
An excellent bibliography of more than 150 sources on the effects of
abortion and contraception (including abortifacient birth control pills
and IUDs) on fertility may be found in the November 1990 issue of the Bernadell
Technical Bulletin, pages 7 to 9. Order this back issue of the Bulletin
from Post Office Box 1897, New York, New York 10113-0950.
John R. Cavanaugh, M.D. The Popes, the Pill, and the People: A
Documentary Study.
The Bruce Publishing Company, Milwaukee. 1965, 130 pages. This
interesting book, written and published before Humanae Vitae was
issued, describes the impacts of the Pill on society and on women's
bodies long before the debate was obscured by the power of the press and
the drug companies. The author also describes the impacts of the pill on
menstrual regulation and its effects upon nursing mothers. Most
importantly, he talks about the neverchanging position of the Church on
artificial contraception.
Couple to Couple League. "The Pill and the IUD: Some Facts
for an Informed Choice."
Pamphlet available for 10 cents from the Couple to Couple League,
Post Office Box 11084, Cincinnati, Ohio 45211. Telephone: (513)
661-7612.
Carl Djerassi. The Politics of Contraception.
New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1980. Illustrated, 274 pages.
Reviewed by Andrew Hacker in the Summer 1980 issue of the International
Review of Natural Family Planning, pages 179 to 181. This is a
fascinating book purely because it gives us insight into the mind of Dr.
Carl Djerassi, one of the original inventors of the birth control pill.
By reading this book, one can examine the very roots and beginnings of
the anti-life, anti-natalist philosophy.
J.C. Espinoza, M.D. Birth Control: Why Are They Lying to Women?
Paperback. Order from: Life Issues Bookshelf, Sun Life, Thaxton,
Virginia 24174, telephone: (703) 586-4898, or from Our Lady's Book
Service, Nazareth Homestead, R.D. 1, Box 258, Constable, New York 12926,
telephone: 1-800-263-8160. Reviewed by Eugene F. Diamond, M.D., on page
32 of the February 1983 ALL About Issues. The eugenicists, the
birth-control profitmakers, and the Neomalthusians have concocted an
effective and pervasive propaganda campaign against population. This
propaganda is filled with lies, half-truths, and distortions. Dr.
Espinoza's book exposes the health hazards of artificial contraception
and shows that safe and effective natural family planning is really the
only way to go from a practical standpoint. Also available in Spanish as
El Control De La Natalidad: Porque Les Mienten A Las Mujeres?
Ellen Grant, M.D. The Bitter Pill: How Safe Is the 'Perfect
Contraceptive?'
London: Elm Tree Books, 1985. 7.95 pounds, 184 pages.
Natalee S. Greenfield. "First Do No Harm ...:" A
Dying Woman's Battle Against the Physicians and Drug Companies Who
Misled Her About the Hazards of THE PILL.
Sun River Press, Two Continents Publishing Group, 30 East 42nd
Street, New York, New York 10017. 1976. The author follows the story of
Kathryn Stuart, her daughter, whose breast cancer was fatally
accelerated by the birth control pill, which she was encouraged to take
by doctors. Her husband, so typical of many men, wanted a sterile wife
and divorced Kathryn when she refused to take the pill for health
reasons. The doctors condemned her as "neurotic" even when she
was in agony, because she realized what was happening to her and fought
back.
Greenhaven Press. Human Sexuality: Opposing Viewpoints.
Greenhaven Press Opposing Viewpoints Series, Post Office Box 289009, San
Diego, California 92128-9009. 1989, 440 pages. This series consists of a
basic volume followed by annual updates by the same name. The main
arguments for and against each idea are written by the leading activists
in each field. Topics covered include contraceptives (the birth control
pill and condoms are emphasized), AIDS, homosexuality, and abortion.
This topic is covered by a series of books, beginning with a basic set
of essays entitled Sources and continuing with an additional and
updated annual series of essays. A catalog is available from the above
address and can be obtained by calling 1-(800) 231-5163.
Human Life International. Project Abortifacients.
June 1991, 23 pages. This summary report, updated periodically by
Human Life International, lists major quotes and many major studies on
the abortifacient mode of action and side effects of the most common
abortifacients: The birth control pill, the intra-uterine device (IUD),
NORPLANT, RU-486, and Depo-Provera. Available from Human Life
International, 7845-E Airpark Road, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20879.
George A. Kelly (editor). Human Sexuality in Our Time: What the
Church Teaches.
1978: Paperback. Order from: Life Issues Bookshelf, Sun Life,
Thaxton, Virginia 24174, telephone: (703) 586-4898. Proceedings of the
Spring 1978 conference by St. John's University's Institute for Advanced
Studies in Catholic Doctrine. Topics include Catholics and the Pill; the
Bible and human sexuality; the morality and sanctity of sex; and what
the Church teaches on sex.
John F. Kippley. "Birth Control and Christian
Discipleship."
1985, paperback, 36 pages. Order from the Couple to Couple League,
Post Office Box 111184, Cincinnati, Ohio 45211-1184, or from Life Issues
Bookshelf, Sun Life, Thaxton, Virginia 24174, telephone: (703) 586-4898.
This superb booklet outlines the history of artificial contraception,
its effects upon the body, the family and society in general, and the
history of traditional Scriptural and Christian opposition to it (both
Protestant and Catholic), until the collapse of the Church's resistance
in the period 1930 to 1970.
James W. Knight and Joan C. Callahan. Preventing Birth:
Contemporary Methods and Related Moral Controversies.
University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1989. 350 pages.
This book pretty thoroughly covers the history, politics, and types of
birth control, some information on human reproductive anatomy and how
the birth control methods work, techniques of abortion and types and
modes of action of various abortifacients, and a short section on the
various issues related to abortion. This is a book that takes the widest
possible view of the abortion debate, sweeping in almost every
tangential issue, and is recommended for those who would like to pursue
the connections between abortion and artificial contraception further.
Donald H. Merkin. Pregnancy as a Disease: The Pill in Society.
Kennikat Press, Port Washington, New York. 1976, 135 pages. A very
interesting look at how the birth control pill was introduced into the
United States. The author discusses the psychology of "pregnancy as
disease;" detailed information concerning the various measures
applied to the impacts of the Pill; and the social demography associated
with using American women in "the most massive experiment ever
conducted." Drug litigation and diethylstilbestrol (DES) are also
covered.
John Warwick Montgomery. Slaughter of the Innocents: Abortion,
Birth Control, and Divorce in Light of Science, Law, and Theology.
1981, Crossway Books, 9825 West Roosevelt Road, Westchester,
Illinois 60153. This book, among other topics, covers how to decide
whether or not to use artificial birth control methods; marriage,
divorce, and abortion from a Christian perspective; and the historical
Christian perspective of the unborn child.
Physicians Desk Reference
(PDR), updated annually, contains a comprehensive inventory of
virtually all drugs currently available in the United States, including
birth control pills. The PDR includes photographs of the pills and
detailed information on their chemical contents.
Father Paul J. Quay. The Christian Meaning of Human Sexuality.
115 pages. Order from Ignatius Press, 15 Oakland Avenue, Harrison,
New York 10528, telephone: 1-800-528-0559. Using Scripture and the
writings of distinguished (conservative) theologians, Father Quay
explains the understanding of human sexuality that divine revelation
offers us. This book is written for Christian adults who want to know
what kinds of sexual behavior are right and wrong and who want to gain
true insight into why such behavior is right or wrong.
John Rock. The Time Has Come.
Avon Books, 959 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10019. 1963, 186
pages, 75 cents originally. This book is profoundly interesting from a
historical point of view because the author, one of the original
developers of the birth control pill, tells us why we Americans (and
Catholics in particular) should accept the birth control pill. The book,
written five years before the encyclical Humanae Vitae was
released, was published when birth control was being debated as hotly as
abortion is being debated now. It is also fascinating because it gives
precisely the same reasoning as pro-abortionists do now. The author
inadvertently gives us a classic treatise on the intimate connections
between abortion and birth control.
Barbara Seaman. The Doctors' Case Against the Pill.
Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York. 1980, 230 pages.
This book, which comes highly recommended by the pro-abortion
Neofeminist group The Boston Women's Health Book Collective (of Our
Body fame), covers in great detail the many aspects of the debate
surrounding the birth control pill, with the vast majority of the
emphasis on the physical dangers associated with it blood clots, heart
disease, strokes, diabetes, cancer, jaundice, gum disease, sterility,
genetic changes, irritability, depression, urinary infections, and
arthritis. Alternatives to the Pill are also discussed.
United States Government. Approved Drug Products With
Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations.
Lists current market prescription drug products approved by the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) and therapeutic equivalent products.
Excellent for conscientious pro-lifers who want to boycott Upjohn,
Rousell-Uclaf, and other death peddlers. Serial Number 917-016-00000-3,
1990. Order by mail from Superintendent of Documents, United States
Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, or by telephone from
(202) 783-3238.
United States Government, Food and Drug Administration. Requirements
of Laws and Regulations Enforced by the United States Food and Drug
Administration.
This publication is intended to be a cross reference to the major
requirements of laws and regulations administered by the FDA. This book
could come in handy for pro-lifers trying to track the distribution of
new IUDs, NORPLANT, and the resurgence of the use of Depo-Provera by
poor women. Serial Number 017-012-00343-5, 1989, 85 pages. Order by mail
from Superintendent of Documents, United States Government Printing
Office, Washington, DC 20402, or by telephone from (202) 783-3238.
© American Life League BBS — 1-703-659-7111
This is a chapter of the Pro-Life Activist's Encyclopedia,
published by American Life League.
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