3 hours ago
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
In case you somehow missed it, the Supreme Court made the decision today to overturn Roe v. Wade this morning. I was preparing myself for something crazy to happen after that leak a while back, for this decision to somehow not come to fruition. But despite my worries, the Lord was gracious to this country today!
I just feel the need to mark this day, the day Roe c. Wade fell! And Lord willing, the beginning of the end of abortion in this country. We’ve destroyed 60+ million babies in this country over the last 50 years. This country deserves judgement for that, but God has shown mercy to us. I didn’t think I’d see Roe v. Wade overturned in my lifetime, though I’ve prayed for it for years. In a year, there will be human beings alive who wouldn’t have been because of the Supreme Court’s decision today! Praise the Lord!
I'm so thankful for the courage and fortitude of the Supreme Court with all the pressure they must have been feeling after the leak a month ago. I'm so thankful that Trump got those four years to put some of those justices on the court. Some of these people are probably believers, many of them probably are not, but I'm amazed at how the Lord "turns the hearts of kings wherever He wishes" (Proverbs 21:1). God did that, through the actions of unexpected people, through everything that led to this historic decision from the highest court in the land.
I've explained about abortion to my kids. When it came up a few years back, I didn't need to do very much beyond just telling my kids (age appropriately) what abortion is, and they were immediately adamantly pro-life. Sometimes children are wiser than adults.
I told them about the Supreme Court decision today, and we celebrated and cheered! When I explained about what it all would mean, their immediate question was whether abortion would be allowed in our state, and with sorrow I had to tell them yes. Our state is wicked. We need to keep praying, keep voting for the pro-life candidates, keep defending the unborn. Then we prayed for an end to abortion altogether.
“Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts. I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works…The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy. The Lord is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works.”
Psalms 145:3-5, 8-9 NKJV
My hope and prayer now is that I will get to celebrate with my kids again when abortion is banned across the United States. Soon, Lord, please!
Tonight is for celebrating and telling the kids what God has done! Don't let anyone dampen the day for you, friends! Today is a very good day!
“Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts. I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works…The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy. The Lord is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works.”
Psalms 145:3-5, 8-9 NKJV
"This will be written for the generation to come,
That a people yet to be created may praise the Lord."
That a people yet to be created may praise the Lord."
Psalm 102:18 NKJV
This is the first election year that my kids are old enough to really understand what's going on.
Four years ago my oldest understood the concept of voting, and was rooting for our candidate. What he was thankfully spared from was all the nastiness that happened both before and after the election. I wish our children were growing up in a more civil time. So often the political vitriol becomes the focus and we forget there is beauty in this election process too.
Beauty, you may ask? In an election year? Yes, I think so. The more I review the electoral process in preparation for teaching it to my kids, the more I'm reminded of how brilliant our system of government is. Those Founding Fathers, despite all the flack they get when people look back on some of their flaws and sins now, really knew what they were doing when it comes to government.
Despite the usual angst that election years bring, I'm actually really enjoying the part where I get to teach my kids how it all works! We've started digging into a few resources, and I want to share the ones that I've found so far for teaching civics to young children. Alot of civics curricula for homeschoolers are aimed at middle and high school, but you can still find some good resources for the younger set too.
Our Spine
Before I start, I have to say that a "spine" resource that I've been using is actually a civics curriculum for K-12 grade that is put out by my state's homeschool organization. I was skeptical when I saw that it was supposed to cover such a big age range, but it really is written in an understandable way for young kids, and is also adaptable for different ages. One chapter is specifically geared toward our state, but most of the information is about the federal government and good citizenship, including a very thorough chapter on the electoral process. And the best part to me is that it is written from a Christian perspective, which can sometimes be hard to find in civics resources for younger kids. I haven't read through the whole thing, but the electoral process chapter is great so far! If you are interested, I do think it is worth the money. Just skip the state history chapter if you aren't in my corner of the country!
One More Thing...
I will say that doing a review of the electoral process yourself is so helpful and important before attempting to teach it to your kids. If you are a little fuzzy on some aspects of our elections (who isn't, really?), I'd say do a little research yourself first. I am reading through the chapter in our civics book before I go over it with my kids, and I also picked up The Everything American Government Book for myself. Not only is it a nice refresher for me on certain election aspects, but I think it will be a great resource to have on hand as my kids grow. The pages I've read so far seem mostly bipartisan. Though let's be honest, it's hard to have a purely bipartisan book about government - every person will always find something to disagree with. But I think it's doing pretty well so far.
On to the kids' resources!
Picture Books
Today On Election Day - This book is written from the perspective of an elementary school boy that is excited to see people coming to vote at his school on Election Day. I explained some of the terms further to my kids as we read. This is a good resource for younger elementary kids in my opinion. It doesn't tell about the whole electoral process, but it explains the experience of Election Day itself. I'd say it's bipartisan.
America Votes: How Our President Is Elected - This book looks like it will be a quick read, but it is actually very dense. There is alot of information packed into these pages. It includes some topics, such as the history of voting, detailed explanations about different aspects of campaigning, etc., that might be more interesting to older kids, but I think you could easily pick and choose which pages to read to keep it simpler for younger kids. So far it seems to be bipartisan.
Woodrow For President: A Tail Of Voting, Campaigns, And Elections - This is the story of a kind-hearted mouse that runs for office in mouse-world. In the process, this book teaches about how elections, campaigns, political parties, conventions, and debates work. It covers a surprising amount of information for a storybook format!
Duck For President - This book is purely for fun. Hardly anything is covered about the political process, but Duck's antics in running for leader of the farm, then mayor, then governor, then President, are amusing. I also used this as a springboard to talk about how complicated it is to be the leader of an entire nation.
Videos
History For Kids: How We Elect The President - My kids loved the format of this DVD - it tells about the electoral process, including a summary of the electoral college, with game-show type questions as it goes. My kids loved shouting out their answers to the questions! Mostly bipartisan, but all the real-life video clips that were inserted were of Democrats, so make of that what you will.
History For Kids: Running For President - Some of the same information as the video I listed above, but goes a little more in detail about the electoral college and campaigns.
Note: Couldn't find the two videos above online (weird), but I'd recommend checking your library! My library has the whole series.
Prager U "Do You Understand The Electoral College" - This video explains what the electoral college is, and the advantages in using this method of electing our President. If you think we should eliminate the electoral college, you should watch this video to fully understand why the electoral college is a good thing. Like I said, the Founders knew what they were doing! We watched it all together, even though alot of it was over my kids' heads, and then afterward I explained the main points in more accessible language to them. Dare I say, I think my little 4th-grade-and-under crowd got it?
Learn Our History: Election Day, Choosing Our President - This is put out by Mike Huccabee, so it's coming from a conservative perspective - which is a good thing for our family but you may want to know that ahead of time. The bully of the school is running for class president so he can take away the grading system that he claims is "not fair". The kids travel through history to learn about how elections were established, how debates work, and by the end one of them decides to run against the bully, and the common-sense candidate wins. I was a little worried this would be over my kids' heads, but they seemed to enjoy it - they watched it twice! Older-style animation, but we don't mind that in our house.
Activities
Election Activities For Voters Of All Ages - This packet contains three different levels of activities, spanning from preschool/kindergarten age, to grade school, to middle school. There are copyworb pages, word searches, mazes, and other worksheets, along with printable to hold a "favorite dessert" election, and pages to track the results of the electoral college on election night. I am so glad to have found this, and I love how so many of the activities are applicable for elementary school. This activity pack goes beyond the "holding a faux election" idea, and gives a lot of other activities to work with. It's also totally bipartisan. Highly recommend it! I am definitely going to take advantage of the election night trackers and have my biggest kiddos watch on election night with my husband and me.
Sonlight Election Unit Study - Sonlight has put out a free Election Unit Study that I think is a great fit for middle schoolers - it includes many writing prompts, activity pages, and lots of great information about the election process in the U.S. Topics include Forms Of Government, Branches Of Government, Political Parties, Electoral College, Campaigns, etc. I am planning on using this unit study for my middle school students this year, as a way to challenge them a little bit more.
I'll add more resources to this post as I find more, but these are the things I am using so far this year to teach my kids about the electoral process! I think we all have been enjoying it and making fun memories surrounding the election this year - and that's a big blessing to me. I love that even when elections can get so contentious, we can still have some fun appreciating the process.
(Warning: There are Rogue One spoilers below! Read at your own risk. Also this is me at the theater last night.)
Before I start into my opinions about the new Star Wars spin-off, Rogue One, you should know that Star Wars pretty much runs in my blood. My dad saw the movies as a young teen and when my siblings and I reached an appropriate age, we all gathered around the TV, and a new family tradition was born. We watched those movies countless times growing up, and I will always remember going to see Episode One when it came out in the theaters. We watched the movie as a family, went to Taco Bell and discussed it endlessly, then drove straight back to the theater and watched it again. There are many Star Wars enthusiasts, and dare I say even experts, in my family. They may not all share my opinions, but this is what I thought of the latest installment.
First, when I say I didn't "love" it, I don't mean I hated it either. I thought the plot was really well done, and I loved all the references that tied into Episode Four (the Star Wars movie that comes right after Rogue One). I thought the connection between Jyn and her father was well-formed and added a sweetness to that part of the story. The ending was bittersweet, as was fitting since we knew from Episode Four that “many fighters died to bring us this information”.
There were a few small irritants in this film, such as the lack of backstories and making the Force too “religious”, but there were a couple things that bothered me more, and I think are a reflection of some of the ways our culture is changing, so I want to talk about those here.
The first point may seem petty, but I think it’s worth discussion - and that was the flatness of the characters in this movie. Do you remember the variety of personalities in the original Star Wars trilogy? We had Princess Leia, with all her spunk and conviction. We had Han, with his arrogance and recklessness and lovably absurd connection to his ship. We had Luke, the whiney farmer turned introspective brooder turned indispensable Jedi. What tied it all together, what made these movies classics, was the color of their personalities, the sense of history, the development of relationships. It was their tenacity in the fight, their grit, the conviction that the Empire was evil and must be stopped, but it wasn’t only that - their personalities were what made it fun, their flaws were what made us laugh, and you got the feeling that they couldn’t have finally defeated the Empire without being exactly who they were, flaws and all.
I didn’t get that in Rogue One. I was disappointed that many chances to give the characters more depth were not taken. Not only did we get too much Luke Skywalker brooding and not enough Hans Solo reckless and arrogant determination, but the characters in this movie didn’t even really seem to know why they were fighting (except for a brief speech from Jyn on the need to fight against an Empire “this evil”, a mark in her favor). The scene that was most frustrating to me was the monologue from Cassion that was supposed to be inspiring as he pulled all his buddies back into the fight, but the whole speech was really rather depressing.
“We’ve all done terrible things in the name of the rebellion - without the rebellion all those terrible things will be in vain.”
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the whole speech goes against the reason why my family got hooked on Star Wars in the first place. I’ll tell you why I have loved Star Wars so long - and it’s because Star Wars has always been about good versus evil, and there was no confusion between the two.
In the original trilogy (Episodes 4-6) we have the classic fight between good and evil. It was the dark side and the light side, tyranny and freedom. In that world, you either gave in to the draw of power at the expense of the innocent, or you fought against those who would oppress others for their own gain, or you were one of the countless rabble of spineless bystanders. It made you want to choose what was good, and never give in and let evil win.
In the second trilogy (Episodes 1-3) we see how good intentions aren’t enough by themselves, how you need a strong grounding in what is right and wrong to avoid being seduced by the desire for power. How a hunger for control can twist easily to justify terrible evil, and how governments can slide so easily into tyranny when too much power is willingly put into one man’s hands.
In Rogue One, we have an evil Empire willing to destroy planets to reach it’s ends, and we have a well-established rebellion…who apparently has no idea what they are fighting for, except to make past “atrocities” worth it. And I’m sorry, but that just doesn’t cut it. I don’t want to see a movie of people who are just fighting to justify past misdeeds.
I resent the attempt to muddy up the side we all want to root for. I resent the attempt to give Star Wars shades of grey. I resent the attempt in our culture to remove heroes and cut them down to size. They do it with historical figures all the time, and now apparently we can’t even have fictional characters that are good and right and true, and know why they are fighting. I resent the segments of our culture that say there are no more heroes. Because I don’t buy that. I think there are still heroes who take risks because they believe in what is right - and they don’t have to be perfect but they should know what they are fighting for and believe in it’s goodness. I think there are heroes hiding down in many, waiting to come out when they find something good that is worth fighting for.
I want to see a movie where the good guys know that there is right and wrong, good and evil, and they fight to defeat that evil and preserve all that is good in the world. They fight precisely because they recognize that good and evil exist. That is what Star Wars has always been about to me, and it resonated so much because I think it touched down on that truth in the human heart.
In Rogue One some of the main “heroes” are muddied up and cut down to size, and die simply to undo their own or other’s mistakes or to assuage their own consciences. Some may say that is more true to real life, but the reason I watch movies like Star Wars is for moral clarity, not moral ambiguity. It was not inspiring, it was disappointing.
Will Rogue One ruin Star Wars for me? No, because it’s only a Star Wars story, a side plot. I can dismiss or overlook the parts I don’t like. Should you still go see it? Yes, because there were a lot of tie-ins and themes that were worth the time. But will it be a Star Wars favorite for me? No, because it missed the boat on portraying why I love Star Wars in the first place. I just hope Episode Eight doesn’t continue down this same path, because in a culture where morals are muddied, Star Wars has stood out for making good and evil crystal clear.
P.S. I reserve the right to change my mind, but this is my initial reaction. What did you think of the movie?
When I saw the book Abolishing Abortion: How You Can Play A Part In Ending The Greatest Evil Of Our Day by Rev. Frank Pavone, I knew I had to read it, especially in light of everything that has happened with the pro-life movement this year. It is my biggest prayer for this country that abortion will come to an end, and I of course want to play a part!
I haven't written alot of posts this week, because something came up on Wednesday that required some research and prayful consideration.
On Wednesday evening I was browsing through all of the new blog posts, and I came across a new post on my friend Amber's blog. If you'd like to read her post, check it out here.
Amber wrote saying that one of her friends had recently brought to her attention a fact about the birth control pill that she had not been previously aware of. She wrote that the pill works in three ways to prevent pregnancy:
1. Prevents ovulation (we all knew this one, right?)
2. Thickens the cervical fluid to make it difficult for the sperm to reach the egg.
These first two effects are contraceptive - they prevent conception, that is, the joining of the egg and the sperm. However, there is also a third effect that I had not heard of before.
3. Thins the lining of the uterus so that if an egg is fertilized, the feritilized egg will not be able to implant in the uterus. The fertilized egg would then die and be lost with the next menstrual cycle.
I am very pro-life, and I believe that life begins at conception. But this third effect means that the pill can cause a fertilized egg (which I believe to be a human being) to be lost. It's an abortive effect.
This information sent me reeling. I hadn't ever heard of this before, and I was pretty skeptical. I knew some methods of birth control, like IUDs (intra-uterine devices), caused fertilized eggs to be lost, but I had never heard of the birth control pill doing the same thing.
I'm very scientifically minded, so I decided to do some research on this before making a decision. Here's what I found out.
First I tried to find other resources that would give me information on whether or not this effect actually occurs, or whether it was just one of those theories that some anti-birth control person had come up with that didn't have alot of supporting evidence.
Every medical website that I checked listed all three effects of the pill. I checked out my specific birth control, and though the website for my birth control didn't list that third effect, it was confirmed to me by the other medical websites I checked that said low-dose hormonal birth control (which is what I take), does thin the lining of the uterus. I couldn't find one website that said that the pill does not thin the endometrium - every website either listed that as one of the effects, or didn't refer to it at all, but I couldn't find a source refuting it.
In addition, the statement that the lining of the uterus is thinned with hormonal birth control made sense to me. Don't most birth control pills broadcast that they can give you shorter, lighter periods? The lining of the uterus, or endometrium, is what is shed during your period, so if the period is lighter, the lining of the uterus must have been thinner.
I found a good paper on this topic written by a couple pro-life doctors, as well as an abbreviated version of the information in a book entitled Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions? by Randy Alcorn. Please see resources 1 and 2 for links to those resources.
I was pretty disturbed by this information. I didn't want my birth control to have that effect. I like the pill - my periods were extremely irregular and heavy before I started the pill, and I liked the lighter periods and knowing when my period would be.
I wondered how often "break-through ovulation" occurs on the pill. I mean, the pill makes your cycles regular, and if ovulation almost never occurs on the pill, Derek and I could just guess the time that I would ovulate, if ovulation were to occur, and we could abstain during that period.
However, after a little more research I found out that in a study performed by Dr. Don Gambrell, JR. 4.7% of women on high dose birth control had breakthrough ovulation (meaning they ovulated even though they were on the pill), and 14% of women on low-dose birth control (50 mg or less) had breakthrough ovulation (see Resource 3). And apparently the only hormonal birth control that is really available today is of the low-dose variety. That means that you'll probably ovulate a couple times a year, even on the pill. If you ovulate and don't get pregnant, it's because one of the other two mechanisms kicked in. If the sperm never reached the egg, there's no problem, but if it did reach the egg and there was no pregnancy, then the egg was unable to implant and was lost.
What about staying on the pill and just trying to guess when you ovulate and abstain during that time? Unfortunately it seems that it is possible to ovulate any time during the month (see Resource 4). Even if you try to monitor ovulation through taking your basal body temperature or cervical mucous, those methods really can only tell you when ovulation has already occurred, or when it is imminent. In order to ensure that the egg isn't fertilized you have to stop having sex about seven days before ovulation, because sperm can survive for up to seven days inside the woman's body. I couldn't find a reliable way to predict ovulation that far in advance.
My conclusion from all this information hunting was that, yes, hormonal birth control of any kind (ring or pills) can prevent a fertilized egg from implanting, which, in effect, is very early abortion. Breakthrough ovulation can and does occur on hormonal birth control, and it is difficult to determine if and when ovulation occurs until after the fact, making the option of abstaining when ovulation is suspected to occur unreliable. *(Note: See update to this information after the Resources section.)
Update 8/2010: Since writing this post I have done alot more research on the signs of ovulation and how to predict ovulation in order to prevent , which appears to be alot more do-able than I originally thought. However, I still think it would be difficult to predict ovulation when taking the birth control pill, because of the additional hormones that the pill introduces to the body and the effects of those hormones on the quality and amount of cervical fluid (see the above list of the effects of the birth control pill). Changes in cervical fluid consistency must be observed in order to predict ovulation and prevent the fertilization of the egg. It would be very difficult to identify changes in cervical fluid when taking hormonal birth control because the pill causes a dry-up of cervical fluid, and that sign would then be obscured. Therefore, my previous concerns with adequately predicting ovulation when taking hormonal birth control are still valid.
I thought all you married, pro-lifers out there had a right to know this information. Each couple has to evaluate the information and decide for themselves. Hearing about this has resulted in a few restless nights, a ton of time spent researching, and quite a bit of prayer, but we finally came to a decision.
Knowing all this information, Derek and I could not justify continuing to use hormonal birth control. If the abortive effect of the hormonal birth control were to occur it would most likely be extremely rare, and may not even happen at all; however, there is a possibility it could happen, and there is no way to reliably prevent an egg from getting fertilized, should breakthrough ovulation occur.
If there is even a chance that a human life could be ended because of our choice to take birth control, can we really justify it? Derek and I couldn't. And believe me, I tried. I researched every avenue and excuse I could think of, but nothing can assure me that losing a fertilized egg won't happen. I really don't want to stop taking the pill - it makes my life so much easier and better, and I honestly don't think I'm ready to be a mother.
But do I want to answer to God someday for continuing to take the pill, even though I knew there was a possiblity that I could be losing babies by taking it? I don't want to be judged for that someday.
I believe every human life is precious, and I believe human life begins as soon as that sperm fuses with that egg. I have to try to do what is right, even though it's not what I want to do right now.
I prayed before I even began my research that the Lord would show us the right choice, that He would make the choices so clear that there wouldn't be a way that I could pick the wrong one. And I feel like He made His opinion on it pretty clear to me.
To be honest with you, I'm absolutely terrified! I don't want to get pregnant right now, and even though Derek and I have a pretty good plan for not getting pregnant, the chances are certainly higher that we might. But there was a fork in the road - choose my own way, follow my own desire and stay on the pill? Or do what I know is the right choice, take a leap of faith, stop taking the pill, and trust in the Lord to take care of us? If I really call myself a follower of Jesus, I have to choose the second. And I think my Jesus will continue to take care of me, whether we get pregnant right now or not. He's never let me down so far, and I really have no reason to believe He will now!
For a little more information on how we plan to try not to get pregnant, check out Resource 5 and 6. I'll do another post ASAP on our game plan, just in case any of you are interested.
My original post stopped here, but another question was brought up in the comments section which I spent some more time researching. My response and conclusions are below.
Brittany, my dear blogging friend, brought up a point in the comments section that referred to how some doctors think the research is inconclusive on whether the thickness of the endometrium in pill-users can cause fertilized eggs to be lost. So yes, I did more research! Here's some more stuff I found out.
I did a little more research on why some doctors think the research is inconclusive for the third effect. I found a research paper (see Resource 7) that stated that some doctors think that if breakthrough ovulation does occur in women who are taking birth control, the associated increase in estrogen will help to thicken the lining of the uterus at that time. There are no studies that show that the endometrium does thicken after breakthrough ovulation, but there's no studies that show that it doesn't either. That's why some pro-life doctors are okay with birth control, because there hasn't been a study done to see what the endometrial thickness is in women on birth control after breakthrough ovulation.
I did a little more research on the average pre-ovulatory endometrial thickness in women who are not on birth control. If the difference in thickness between women who are in the pre-ovulatory phase and women on birth control is pretty significant, that would be some information that I would consider helpful in my own decision-making process.
The average pre-ovulatory endometrial thickness in women who are not on birth control is anywhere from 3-8 mm (I found one page that said it could be 3 mm, but I lost that page - one resource I found says 4-8 mm usually before ovulation - see Resource 8). In the ovulatory phase (right before and after ovulation) it is usually 6-10 mm thick, and post-ovulation it increases again to anywhere from 7-14 mm thick.
I found a study (see resource 9) that measured the uterine thickness in pill users and non-pill users, and concluded that "Endometrial thickness was significantly smaller in the pill-using group, correlating with the well established fact that oral contraceptives cause atrophy of the endometrium". "In the pill-using group, endometrial thickness was 1.1 mm in both phases . . ."
In women on birth control the thickness starts out at about a third of the thickness of the lowest number I could find in a pre-ovulatory, non-birth control estimate (1.1 mm compared to 3 mm). The minimum thickness for implantation to occur can be anywhere from 5 mm to 9 mm to 13 mm (see Resource 1 again).
Since the thickness starts out so much thinner, and stays that way throughout both phases of the cycle, it seems to me that it would be questionable whether it would increase in thickness to the point that it could support implantation after breakthrough ovulation, if the thickness increases at all (remember there are still no studies on what happens after breakthrough ovulation on oral contraceptives).
The third effect of birth control seems to be pretty well accepted in the secular community (and why shouldn't they accept the evidence as it is - it doesn't affect their belief system like it does ours). The debate on whether that third effect does indeed happen seems to be mostly within the pro-life community - because it affects our pro-life belief system so much, I think it's harder for us pro-life people to be totally objective on this. But the secular community can be pretty objective, because they don't care if it inhibits implantation or not. I think more research should be done on the thickness of the endometrium in pill users after breakthrough ovulation. Until more studies are done, there is just no way to be sure what exactly happens.
I think the secular community to be more objective (as much as it pains me to admit that) on this topic because of their lack of belief that they need to change their behaviour depending on whether or not the third effect happens. So I'm going to go with the thought of the group that I would think to be a little more objective on this issue, until more research is done.
1. Larimore, Walter L.; MD. Stanford, Joseph B.; MD. "Post fertilization Effects of Birth Control and Their Relationship to Informed Consent." Arch Fam Med. 2000;9:126-133. Link: http://archfami.highwire.org/cgi/content/full/9/2/126
2. Alcorn, Randy. "A Condensation of Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions?" Link: http://www.epm.org/artman2/publish/prolife_birth_control_pill/A_Short_Condensation_of_Does_The_Birth_Control_Pill_Cause_Abortions.shtml
3. Schibler, Ann. "Growing debate over abortifacients: abortifacients, drugs or agents that cause an abortion, are commonly sold to women who think they are getting substances that prevent conception altogether." The New American, January 21, 2008. Link: http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-33824001_ITM
4. Grunebaum, Amos; MD. "Ovulation Issues", MedicineNet, WebMD Live Events Transcript, February 2, 2004. Link: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=54668
Quote:
"Member question: Is it possible to ovulate the day after you stop bleeding?
Dr. Amos: It is possible to ovulate any time in your cycle, even the day after you stop bleeding. Most women usually ovulate around CD 14 or so, but much earlier and much later ovulations are possible."
5. A website on information on pregnancy. Check out this link for some good information on how to prevent pregnancy when you are not on the pill. Link: http://www.epigee.org/guide/natural.html
6. TheBump.com's Fertility Chart. Link: http://images.thenestbaby.com/tools/pdfs/fertility_chart.pdf
7. Johnston, James P; D.O. "Do Oral Contraceptives Cause Abortions?" Updated january 7, 2005. Link: http://www.prolifephysicians.org/abortifacient.htm.
8. Daiter, Eric; MD. The New Jersey Infertility Treatment Center. "Procedures Tutorials" page. Link: http://www.thenewjerseyinfertilitytreatmentcenter.com/ultrasound_cases.php
9. McCarthy, Shirley; MD, PhD. Tauber, Cheryl; RT. Gore, John; PhD. "Female Pelvic anatomy; MR Assessment of Variations During the Menstrual Cycle With Use of Oral Contraceptives". Radiology, Volume 160, Number 1. 1986. Link: http://radiology.rsnajnls.org/cgi/reprint/160/1/119
*Update 8/2010: Since writing this post I have done alot more research on the signs of ovulation and how to predict ovulation in order to prevent or achieve pregnancy (see the post "The Fertility Awareness Method" for more information). Predicting ovulation appears to be alot more do-able than I originally thought.
However, I still think it would be difficult to predict ovulation when taking the birth control pill, because of the additional hormones that the pill introduces to the body and the effects of those hormones on the quality and amount of cervical fluid (see the above list of the effects of the birth control pill).
Changes in cervical fluid consistency must be observed in order to accurately predict ovulation and prevent the fertilization of the egg. Hormonal birth control causes a dry-up of cervical fluid. It would be very difficult to predict ovulation by identifying changes in cervical fluid when taking hormonal birth control, because that sign would be obscured as an effect of the pill. Therefore, my previous concerns with adequately predicting ovulation when taking hormonal birth control are still valid.
On Wednesday evening I was browsing through all of the new blog posts, and I came across a new post on my friend Amber's blog. If you'd like to read her post, check it out here.
Amber wrote saying that one of her friends had recently brought to her attention a fact about the birth control pill that she had not been previously aware of. She wrote that the pill works in three ways to prevent pregnancy:
1. Prevents ovulation (we all knew this one, right?)
2. Thickens the cervical fluid to make it difficult for the sperm to reach the egg.
These first two effects are contraceptive - they prevent conception, that is, the joining of the egg and the sperm. However, there is also a third effect that I had not heard of before.
3. Thins the lining of the uterus so that if an egg is fertilized, the feritilized egg will not be able to implant in the uterus. The fertilized egg would then die and be lost with the next menstrual cycle.
I am very pro-life, and I believe that life begins at conception. But this third effect means that the pill can cause a fertilized egg (which I believe to be a human being) to be lost. It's an abortive effect.
This information sent me reeling. I hadn't ever heard of this before, and I was pretty skeptical. I knew some methods of birth control, like IUDs (intra-uterine devices), caused fertilized eggs to be lost, but I had never heard of the birth control pill doing the same thing.
I'm very scientifically minded, so I decided to do some research on this before making a decision. Here's what I found out.
First I tried to find other resources that would give me information on whether or not this effect actually occurs, or whether it was just one of those theories that some anti-birth control person had come up with that didn't have alot of supporting evidence.
Every medical website that I checked listed all three effects of the pill. I checked out my specific birth control, and though the website for my birth control didn't list that third effect, it was confirmed to me by the other medical websites I checked that said low-dose hormonal birth control (which is what I take), does thin the lining of the uterus. I couldn't find one website that said that the pill does not thin the endometrium - every website either listed that as one of the effects, or didn't refer to it at all, but I couldn't find a source refuting it.
In addition, the statement that the lining of the uterus is thinned with hormonal birth control made sense to me. Don't most birth control pills broadcast that they can give you shorter, lighter periods? The lining of the uterus, or endometrium, is what is shed during your period, so if the period is lighter, the lining of the uterus must have been thinner.
I found a good paper on this topic written by a couple pro-life doctors, as well as an abbreviated version of the information in a book entitled Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions? by Randy Alcorn. Please see resources 1 and 2 for links to those resources.
I was pretty disturbed by this information. I didn't want my birth control to have that effect. I like the pill - my periods were extremely irregular and heavy before I started the pill, and I liked the lighter periods and knowing when my period would be.
I wondered how often "break-through ovulation" occurs on the pill. I mean, the pill makes your cycles regular, and if ovulation almost never occurs on the pill, Derek and I could just guess the time that I would ovulate, if ovulation were to occur, and we could abstain during that period.
However, after a little more research I found out that in a study performed by Dr. Don Gambrell, JR. 4.7% of women on high dose birth control had breakthrough ovulation (meaning they ovulated even though they were on the pill), and 14% of women on low-dose birth control (50 mg or less) had breakthrough ovulation (see Resource 3). And apparently the only hormonal birth control that is really available today is of the low-dose variety. That means that you'll probably ovulate a couple times a year, even on the pill. If you ovulate and don't get pregnant, it's because one of the other two mechanisms kicked in. If the sperm never reached the egg, there's no problem, but if it did reach the egg and there was no pregnancy, then the egg was unable to implant and was lost.
What about staying on the pill and just trying to guess when you ovulate and abstain during that time? Unfortunately it seems that it is possible to ovulate any time during the month (see Resource 4). Even if you try to monitor ovulation through taking your basal body temperature or cervical mucous, those methods really can only tell you when ovulation has already occurred, or when it is imminent. In order to ensure that the egg isn't fertilized you have to stop having sex about seven days before ovulation, because sperm can survive for up to seven days inside the woman's body. I couldn't find a reliable way to predict ovulation that far in advance.
My conclusion from all this information hunting was that, yes, hormonal birth control of any kind (ring or pills) can prevent a fertilized egg from implanting, which, in effect, is very early abortion. Breakthrough ovulation can and does occur on hormonal birth control, and it is difficult to determine if and when ovulation occurs until after the fact, making the option of abstaining when ovulation is suspected to occur unreliable. *(Note: See update to this information after the Resources section.)
Update 8/2010: Since writing this post I have done alot more research on the signs of ovulation and how to predict ovulation in order to prevent , which appears to be alot more do-able than I originally thought. However, I still think it would be difficult to predict ovulation when taking the birth control pill, because of the additional hormones that the pill introduces to the body and the effects of those hormones on the quality and amount of cervical fluid (see the above list of the effects of the birth control pill). Changes in cervical fluid consistency must be observed in order to predict ovulation and prevent the fertilization of the egg. It would be very difficult to identify changes in cervical fluid when taking hormonal birth control because the pill causes a dry-up of cervical fluid, and that sign would then be obscured. Therefore, my previous concerns with adequately predicting ovulation when taking hormonal birth control are still valid.
I thought all you married, pro-lifers out there had a right to know this information. Each couple has to evaluate the information and decide for themselves. Hearing about this has resulted in a few restless nights, a ton of time spent researching, and quite a bit of prayer, but we finally came to a decision.
Knowing all this information, Derek and I could not justify continuing to use hormonal birth control. If the abortive effect of the hormonal birth control were to occur it would most likely be extremely rare, and may not even happen at all; however, there is a possibility it could happen, and there is no way to reliably prevent an egg from getting fertilized, should breakthrough ovulation occur.
If there is even a chance that a human life could be ended because of our choice to take birth control, can we really justify it? Derek and I couldn't. And believe me, I tried. I researched every avenue and excuse I could think of, but nothing can assure me that losing a fertilized egg won't happen. I really don't want to stop taking the pill - it makes my life so much easier and better, and I honestly don't think I'm ready to be a mother.
But do I want to answer to God someday for continuing to take the pill, even though I knew there was a possiblity that I could be losing babies by taking it? I don't want to be judged for that someday.
I believe every human life is precious, and I believe human life begins as soon as that sperm fuses with that egg. I have to try to do what is right, even though it's not what I want to do right now.
I prayed before I even began my research that the Lord would show us the right choice, that He would make the choices so clear that there wouldn't be a way that I could pick the wrong one. And I feel like He made His opinion on it pretty clear to me.
To be honest with you, I'm absolutely terrified! I don't want to get pregnant right now, and even though Derek and I have a pretty good plan for not getting pregnant, the chances are certainly higher that we might. But there was a fork in the road - choose my own way, follow my own desire and stay on the pill? Or do what I know is the right choice, take a leap of faith, stop taking the pill, and trust in the Lord to take care of us? If I really call myself a follower of Jesus, I have to choose the second. And I think my Jesus will continue to take care of me, whether we get pregnant right now or not. He's never let me down so far, and I really have no reason to believe He will now!
For a little more information on how we plan to try not to get pregnant, check out Resource 5 and 6. I'll do another post ASAP on our game plan, just in case any of you are interested.
My original post stopped here, but another question was brought up in the comments section which I spent some more time researching. My response and conclusions are below.
Brittany, my dear blogging friend, brought up a point in the comments section that referred to how some doctors think the research is inconclusive on whether the thickness of the endometrium in pill-users can cause fertilized eggs to be lost. So yes, I did more research! Here's some more stuff I found out.
I did a little more research on why some doctors think the research is inconclusive for the third effect. I found a research paper (see Resource 7) that stated that some doctors think that if breakthrough ovulation does occur in women who are taking birth control, the associated increase in estrogen will help to thicken the lining of the uterus at that time. There are no studies that show that the endometrium does thicken after breakthrough ovulation, but there's no studies that show that it doesn't either. That's why some pro-life doctors are okay with birth control, because there hasn't been a study done to see what the endometrial thickness is in women on birth control after breakthrough ovulation.
I did a little more research on the average pre-ovulatory endometrial thickness in women who are not on birth control. If the difference in thickness between women who are in the pre-ovulatory phase and women on birth control is pretty significant, that would be some information that I would consider helpful in my own decision-making process.
The average pre-ovulatory endometrial thickness in women who are not on birth control is anywhere from 3-8 mm (I found one page that said it could be 3 mm, but I lost that page - one resource I found says 4-8 mm usually before ovulation - see Resource 8). In the ovulatory phase (right before and after ovulation) it is usually 6-10 mm thick, and post-ovulation it increases again to anywhere from 7-14 mm thick.
I found a study (see resource 9) that measured the uterine thickness in pill users and non-pill users, and concluded that "Endometrial thickness was significantly smaller in the pill-using group, correlating with the well established fact that oral contraceptives cause atrophy of the endometrium". "In the pill-using group, endometrial thickness was 1.1 mm in both phases . . ."
In women on birth control the thickness starts out at about a third of the thickness of the lowest number I could find in a pre-ovulatory, non-birth control estimate (1.1 mm compared to 3 mm). The minimum thickness for implantation to occur can be anywhere from 5 mm to 9 mm to 13 mm (see Resource 1 again).
Since the thickness starts out so much thinner, and stays that way throughout both phases of the cycle, it seems to me that it would be questionable whether it would increase in thickness to the point that it could support implantation after breakthrough ovulation, if the thickness increases at all (remember there are still no studies on what happens after breakthrough ovulation on oral contraceptives).
The third effect of birth control seems to be pretty well accepted in the secular community (and why shouldn't they accept the evidence as it is - it doesn't affect their belief system like it does ours). The debate on whether that third effect does indeed happen seems to be mostly within the pro-life community - because it affects our pro-life belief system so much, I think it's harder for us pro-life people to be totally objective on this. But the secular community can be pretty objective, because they don't care if it inhibits implantation or not. I think more research should be done on the thickness of the endometrium in pill users after breakthrough ovulation. Until more studies are done, there is just no way to be sure what exactly happens.
I think the secular community to be more objective (as much as it pains me to admit that) on this topic because of their lack of belief that they need to change their behaviour depending on whether or not the third effect happens. So I'm going to go with the thought of the group that I would think to be a little more objective on this issue, until more research is done.
1. Larimore, Walter L.; MD. Stanford, Joseph B.; MD. "Post fertilization Effects of Birth Control and Their Relationship to Informed Consent." Arch Fam Med. 2000;9:126-133. Link: http://archfami.highwire.org/cgi/content/full/9/2/126
2. Alcorn, Randy. "A Condensation of Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions?" Link: http://www.epm.org/artman2/publish/prolife_birth_control_pill/A_Short_Condensation_of_Does_The_Birth_Control_Pill_Cause_Abortions.shtml
3. Schibler, Ann. "Growing debate over abortifacients: abortifacients, drugs or agents that cause an abortion, are commonly sold to women who think they are getting substances that prevent conception altogether." The New American, January 21, 2008. Link: http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-33824001_ITM
4. Grunebaum, Amos; MD. "Ovulation Issues", MedicineNet, WebMD Live Events Transcript, February 2, 2004. Link: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=54668
Quote:
"Member question: Is it possible to ovulate the day after you stop bleeding?
Dr. Amos: It is possible to ovulate any time in your cycle, even the day after you stop bleeding. Most women usually ovulate around CD 14 or so, but much earlier and much later ovulations are possible."
5. A website on information on pregnancy. Check out this link for some good information on how to prevent pregnancy when you are not on the pill. Link: http://www.epigee.org/guide/natural.html
6. TheBump.com's Fertility Chart. Link: http://images.thenestbaby.com/tools/pdfs/fertility_chart.pdf
7. Johnston, James P; D.O. "Do Oral Contraceptives Cause Abortions?" Updated january 7, 2005. Link: http://www.prolifephysicians.org/abortifacient.htm.
8. Daiter, Eric; MD. The New Jersey Infertility Treatment Center. "Procedures Tutorials" page. Link: http://www.thenewjerseyinfertilitytreatmentcenter.com/ultrasound_cases.php
9. McCarthy, Shirley; MD, PhD. Tauber, Cheryl; RT. Gore, John; PhD. "Female Pelvic anatomy; MR Assessment of Variations During the Menstrual Cycle With Use of Oral Contraceptives". Radiology, Volume 160, Number 1. 1986. Link: http://radiology.rsnajnls.org/cgi/reprint/160/1/119
*Update 8/2010: Since writing this post I have done alot more research on the signs of ovulation and how to predict ovulation in order to prevent or achieve pregnancy (see the post "The Fertility Awareness Method" for more information). Predicting ovulation appears to be alot more do-able than I originally thought.
However, I still think it would be difficult to predict ovulation when taking the birth control pill, because of the additional hormones that the pill introduces to the body and the effects of those hormones on the quality and amount of cervical fluid (see the above list of the effects of the birth control pill).
Changes in cervical fluid consistency must be observed in order to accurately predict ovulation and prevent the fertilization of the egg. Hormonal birth control causes a dry-up of cervical fluid. It would be very difficult to predict ovulation by identifying changes in cervical fluid when taking hormonal birth control, because that sign would be obscured as an effect of the pill. Therefore, my previous concerns with adequately predicting ovulation when taking hormonal birth control are still valid.
The Gettysburg address is perhaps one of the greatest speeches in our nation’s history. Perhaps this is because of the critical point that our nation had reached at the time that it was given. At that time we were split in our beliefs on a very divisive issue, fighting just to let our nation survive. Perhaps it was because of the content of the speech, its focus on the very principles which made our nation great. Perhaps it was because of the extremely patriotic nature in which it was given, full of American pride and devotion. Or perhaps it is the dedication to freedom and liberty and justice that is found in every word of this speech, the dedication that it inspires in all those privileged souls who are truly American. Whatever the reason, this piece is very much a part of this country’s story, and it deserves some special focus as we approach Independence Day. The following is my own thoughts on the Gettysburg address, sentence by sentence.
“Eighty- seven years ago, our ancestors founded this country on the principle of liberty and the declaration that all men were created to be equal, and have the same basic rights. This civil war has tested whether these ideas, and a nation which was based on these ideas, can survive for long. While meeting in the place where a significant battle in this war occurred, part of this battlefield is offered as a burial place for those who gave everything for their country and what our country was founded on. This is a very good thing to do, but merely words do not make this place special. The men who fought, and what happened in that great battle are what make Gettysburg special. Words cannot add importance to this place, because soon these words will no longer be remembered, but the events that transpired here, and the significance behind them, will never be forgotten. Our task as those who still live is to work for the cause that these men died to protect, to finish what they started. The best way to honor their sacrifice is to take in our hearts the principles and beliefs which were supremely important to these men, and dedicate ourselves to see the fulfillment of all they hoped to accomplish when they fought here; that all men may be granted their God-given rights in these United States of America, and that this unique country and its supporting idea of freedom for all men will not disappear so long as we are willing to defend them.”
The Gettysburg address mainly emphasizes the idea of freedom for all men which the USA was founded on, and though the Civil War has tested that principle, there were still men who were willing to fight and die to protect this foundation. Though the dedication of the battlefield was meant to honor them, the best way to honor these men is to never forget what they died for, and to give everything we have to further the cause of freedom.
When I read the Gettysburg address, I think of what it takes for this country to survive. This country will always be challenged, and our founding beliefs and principles will always be resented by some. We must remember the great men who fought and died for our country in the past, “that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion”. We must remember what they died for, and never forget the sacrifice that those men made so we could live in freedom. We must learn from their example, and always be willing to protect our country, and the principles of liberty which make this country great. The willingness of the American people to defend and fight for our freedom, along with the grace of God, is what has preserved this country, what will continue to preserve this country, and we must never take that for granted.
“Eighty- seven years ago, our ancestors founded this country on the principle of liberty and the declaration that all men were created to be equal, and have the same basic rights. This civil war has tested whether these ideas, and a nation which was based on these ideas, can survive for long. While meeting in the place where a significant battle in this war occurred, part of this battlefield is offered as a burial place for those who gave everything for their country and what our country was founded on. This is a very good thing to do, but merely words do not make this place special. The men who fought, and what happened in that great battle are what make Gettysburg special. Words cannot add importance to this place, because soon these words will no longer be remembered, but the events that transpired here, and the significance behind them, will never be forgotten. Our task as those who still live is to work for the cause that these men died to protect, to finish what they started. The best way to honor their sacrifice is to take in our hearts the principles and beliefs which were supremely important to these men, and dedicate ourselves to see the fulfillment of all they hoped to accomplish when they fought here; that all men may be granted their God-given rights in these United States of America, and that this unique country and its supporting idea of freedom for all men will not disappear so long as we are willing to defend them.”
The Gettysburg address mainly emphasizes the idea of freedom for all men which the USA was founded on, and though the Civil War has tested that principle, there were still men who were willing to fight and die to protect this foundation. Though the dedication of the battlefield was meant to honor them, the best way to honor these men is to never forget what they died for, and to give everything we have to further the cause of freedom.
When I read the Gettysburg address, I think of what it takes for this country to survive. This country will always be challenged, and our founding beliefs and principles will always be resented by some. We must remember the great men who fought and died for our country in the past, “that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion”. We must remember what they died for, and never forget the sacrifice that those men made so we could live in freedom. We must learn from their example, and always be willing to protect our country, and the principles of liberty which make this country great. The willingness of the American people to defend and fight for our freedom, along with the grace of God, is what has preserved this country, what will continue to preserve this country, and we must never take that for granted.
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