I am a first-year family medicine resident. I have made the difficult decision to not prescribe any contraceptives (pills, patches, IUD's, etc) in my practice. The main motivation for this has been Randy's article Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortion? These possibilities were not taught to me in medical school and I really believed that the Pill completely suppressed ovulation. Now I know differently and it has changed the way I approach women's health care. I encourage Natural Family Planning and I am trying to put together some resources to give patients. I wanted to let you know that as a ministry, you are changing hearts and my wife and I are all the more committed to life. We had been on the pill for our first 3 years of marriage. After we both read the article, we felt that the Spirit was telling us to trust God and not use contraception except NFP. It has been the best year of marriage yet! We are even expecting our first child in April! Thank you for preaching the truth fearlessly even in the face of so much confusion in the Christian medical world. - D. H.
You were instrumental in God’s directing me to stop using the pill shortly after my husband and I were married in 2002. I was searching online to order a supply of pills and I ran across your booklet. God began to give me a vision for our future children. I have to say a big thank you, which words can’t express, for influencing my family in such a profound way. Thank you for being bold enough to stand strong on a message that many Christians would feel uncomfortable with.
God blessed us with a pregnancy only a few weeks after I read your booklet online. My firstborn son is now 5 and has given his heart to God. His life is a wonderful blessing to me and to his younger brother and sister. I can’t believe I was so close to missing out on his life altogether! I see God’s perfect plan unfold in our family as we follow the ways of our Creator rather than thinking we can improve upon His design.
Well-written, tons of documentation, and makes the point clearly without feeling like they are pointing a finger of condemnation. The most important book a woman of child-bearing age can read! — S. A.
I read Randy Alcorn's book Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions? From front to back in one evening. I think it is a much-needed resource and Randy has saved me the trouble of writing the book myself. Last year before marrying, I researched the pill and found that it has a possibility of preventing implantation of tiny embryos. The mini-pill only suppresses ovulation 50% of the time and there was no available information stating how often the combined oral contraceptive does this.
I believe more peer-reviewed journal articles on this topic are urgently needed, and hope the book provokes this.
Also, I hope future editions of this book will address a wider audience, not just Christians. — K. B., New Zealand
In this book, Randy Alcorn is honestly looking for answers with an open mind. Counseling newly married couples in the past and suggesting that they use birth control pills for the first few years of marriage—he was searching for the truth, not wanting to lead anyone astray.
And he did find the truth. A must-read for any woman. Read with an open mind and you will be surprised at what Mr. Alcorn found. – M. A.
After reading this book, I could not see any woman with biblical morals wanting to continue or consider taking the pill. Randy Alcorn has definitely invested much time and research into this book. After doing much research myself, I found the drug companies themselves do not refute the fact that the pill and other hormonal birth control methods (shot, patch, etc.) alter the lining of the uterus so much so that implantation is impossible in most cases.
I do not believe Mr. Alcorn had any agenda planned. He himself states in the book that his original intention in writing this book was to prove that the pill does not cause abortions. But all the information he ran across proved to show that it does in fact cause abortions. I believe Mr. Alcorn spoke very accurately about the “morning after pill” which many consider to be an early abortion (due to its main action to prevent implantation of a newly created human) is nothing more than an extra strong dose of birth control pills.
If you don’t believe Mr. Alcorn, just look at the drug companies websites (which he encourages readers to do in his book). They state clearly the effect they have on the endometrial lining of the uterus. The lining of the uterus has everything to do with whether or not a fertilized egg attaches. Research shows that the minimal endometrial thickness required to maintain a pregnancy ranges from 5-13mm while the average woman taking the pill has an average thickness of 1.1mm. This book is a must-read for those who profess to be prolife and are using the pill, or other hormonal contraceptions. – A. M.
I am a first-year family medicine resident. I have made the difficult decision to not prescribe any contraceptives (pills, patches, IUD's, etc) in my practice. The main motivation for this has been Randy's book Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortion? These possibilities were not taught to me in medical school and I really believed that the Pill completely suppressed ovulation. Now I know differently and it has changed the way I approach women's health care. I encourage Natural Family Planning and I am trying to put together some resources to give patients. I wanted to let you know that as a ministry, you are changing hearts and my wife and I are all the more committed to life. We had been on the pill for our first 3 years of marriage. After we both read the article, we felt that the Spirit was telling us to trust God and not use contraception except NFP. It has been the best year of marriage yet! We are even expecting our first child in April! Thank you for preaching the truth fearlessly even in the face of so much confusion in the Christian medical world. - D. H.
I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the many hours of careful compilation of research and general information in Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions? I am a mother of two and can honestly say that a series of strange events I have no doubt were ordered by the Lord, brought me to your book.
Last year after the birth of my son, I began the pill for the first time in my life and took it for one month, when I stopped due to the physical side effects. I t old my husband, "I would rather be pregnant again rather than feel like this." Within a week I conceived our daughter. After our daughter's birth, having two in diapers—birth control became very important to my husband and I. I am breastfeeding my daughter, so my doctor gave me a progestin-only pill called Errin (norethindrone). Progestin-only is the pill of choice for any breastfeeding mother because it is not supposed to affect milk supply like the combination pill. After two months of taking this pill—though not menstruating yet, I began to think I was pregnant again. At this point, I carefully began reviewing the insert I had previously ignored.
I have to tell you that I consider myself pretty well-informed. Having been in the medical field as a paramedic for 8 years before motherhood, I have read a lot and seen a lot—but I have never heard of the pill doing anything but suppressing ovulation. The insert said my pill worked by suppressing ovulation, thickening cervical mucous and if these fail, it thins the endometrium in order to prevent implantation.
I have to tell you after reading that, I became faint. I knew immediately the implications and was absolutely stunned. Why had no one advised me of this? To make things worse, the insert suggested my pill only prevents ovulation 50% of the time! Because of my firmly rooted convictions, I immediately began to weep. Was it possible I was making my womb such a place?
Amazingly, later that day I found an issue of Prevention magazine (August 2004) with the cover headline: The New Birth Control Ban; What you need to know. This article confused me. I sensed I needed to read more on the subject, but not wanting to believe this about the pill, I took the false relief in the article: "There is no evidence that the Pill's effect on the uterine lining interferes with implantation or has a post-fertilization effect." I will admit that was just what I wanted to hear and took my pill for two more days.
Then the new issue of Eternal Perspectives came in the mail—by no coincidence. I was pouring over the articles as I usually do, when I remembered that you were mentioned in the Prevention magazine article. Sensing it had been written from a liberal standpoint and probably had a pro-choice agenda, I thought I should read your booklet.
I spent the next two nights after the babies were asleep reading every last stitch of you work. How can I ever thank you enough? My emotions have gone from shock to conviction to repentance to absolute outrage at the lack of knowledge. You're right—what about informed consent?! Needless to say, I have stopped my pills. I am hopeful that I have not yet ovulated due to my breastfeeding.
I believe the pharmaceutical companies have a lot at stake. If every convicted woman stopped the pill today, that would be a substantial loss for them. If they can keep us in the dark or simply deny the evidence—they gain. What convinced me most in your booklet was the reference to the thickness of the endometrium while on the pill (1mm or less, when the normal is 5-13mm). I am sure there are other women like myself who would be appalled if they knew they were jeopardizing their own children.
I am very busy right now with my two little ones—but I'd rather have 10 children than to jeopardize even one by interfering with his or her implantation. Clearly a 1-week-old deserves the same protection as any other. You're right, let's err on the side of life. The evidence points to the pill acting as an abortive agent.
Again, I thank God for leading me into the light. He used you as an instrument of knowledge. It has been my desire always to seek the truth and being led down this path was surely an answer to prayer (James 1:5). I would have certainly taken the pill for the next 2-3 years, until we plan to have another child. This booklet may have prevented five silent abortions. It may have prevented three. But if it prevented just one—wasn't it worth your effort?
Thank you for protecting the unborn. - S. K.
I want to thank you for your research and time that you spent regarding birth control pills. My fiancé and I will be married in October and we have been praying and seeking counsel from friends (and doctors) regarding the issues with birth control. We have received so many conflicting opinions and views, none of which seemed to have the support of research and full understanding that you provide in your booklet. This was particularly disappointing when coming from physicians.
We've been told that the rhythm method was unreliable and that other methods of contraception could potentially cause harm to the child if a child was conceived. We've also received differing opinions about whether the Pill does or does not inhibit implantation after fertilization.
We thank you for helping us learn and understand the truth about BCPs, and for providing us the information we needed to make the right choice. - B. G., Houston, TX
Today I was on your website looking for sermon illustrations on hope even in desperate situations (like the Christians in your book Safely Home), and I came across your section on prolife issues. I am strongly prolife, and even got arrested with Operation Rescue a few years back, so I was interested in what you had to say. After reading your article I am forced to change my mind on this issue. You presented the facts clearly, and I can no longer reconcile my belief that life starts at conception with the use of the pill for personal use or to recommend it to others. - M. S.
I would like to purchase multiple copies of Randy Alcorn's book Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions? so I can give them out through my practice and at church. A few weeks ago was Sanctity of Life Sunday and knowing that BCPs are not usually addressed in pastors prolife sermons, I asked to speak as a medical doctor to the congregation after his message on the horrors of the unborn holocaust in our country. I explained about the issue of Christians being strangely silent when it comes to the issue of using BCPs while being staunchly anti-abortion. I explained in front of the whole church how BCPs work to try and prevent conception but often fail and result in a fertilized egg. Most Christians believe in the sanctity of life of the unborn at the point of conception and don't understand that the pills don't protect against conception all the time but are very efficient in covering that problem by making the uterus inhospitable to the fertilized egg and prevent implantation. I've gotten several folks thinking about their using birth control pills. In fact, until I found out how the pills worked, my wife and I used them. I am a physician and was not taught the "other side of the coin" about preventing implantation in medical school. My wife and I were guilty of putting off having children by using the pill as recommended by her pastor father and mother. I naively went along with it and we've since repented of this act and speak out boldly on it now. I have stopped writing BCPs except in the case of severe intractable bleeding problems that BCPs can help to stop the flow and regulate periods. However, I always explain to the patient the mechanism of action and that barrier measures or even abstinence before marriage is the key and only full proof method of preventing an unwanted pregnancy. - C. H., MD
You recently gave me a copy of your book Does The Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions? I also mentioned to you that I had just started taking the pill 3 days prior to your speaking engagement.
When I got home I immediately started reading the book and I was convicted just after a few pages, once you had explained the 3 mechanisms of the pill. Some people might say that you are not qualified to write on this, since you aren't a doctor, but I know from the examples that you give and quotes from magazines and books and other material that you indeed did your own extensive research. I trust what you wrote and I believe it.
I would also like to share something else with you regarding this subject. For about 6 months I had been planning on going to my OB/GYN with every intention of asking him to put me on the pill. It would be so much more convenient for my husband and I.
But as the time drew closer for my appointment, I was really beginning to have second thoughts. I didn't know why, but there were certainly some doubts there. I told my best friend that I was planning on getting the pill and she said that they can cause abortions. She didn't have any facts to back up what she was saying, so I didn't put a lot of stock in what she said, but, it did plan another seed of doubt. Three or four days before my appointment I REALLY began to experience some big doubts about the pill and I had absolutely no peace about it. I knew the Holy Spirit was telling me that it was not God's desire to get on the pill, but I chose to ignore those warnings.
So anyway, I go to the appointment, ask my Dr. if the pill causes abortions and he says "no" and he explained that they can't cause abortions because they stop you from ovulating in the first place. So, convinced by my Dr. that they were safe, I gave in and got my prescription filled. The 3 days after that were horrible. I was nauseated, lightheaded and very weak. That Saturday is when I saw you and you gave me the book. Hmmm... was God trying to tell me something? I like to believe that He was.
After reading part way through your book, I was convicted and went into prayer where I was able to confess my stubborn willfulness and asked God to forgive me for forging on in my flesh and getting on the pill. I also was able to confess and ask for forgiveness for my past use of the pill (also in my life B.C.) and for causing the death of any of the children that God had placed in my womb.
Thank you Randy for writing on this subject and doing the research that it required. I plan on sharing this book with others that are considering "the pill". My husband and I are still not sure about birth control, he is willing to have a vasectomy. We have two children already and we live on a single income, more children would be very hard on us financially. I know that God would provide, but I just can't fathom having more children. If I got pregnant now I would be 35 by the time the child was born. I just don't know.
Anyway, thank you for your book on the pill. I have just this week finished reading Deadline and I can't wait to read Dominion. I want to read Edge Of Eternity again soon and really soak it in. Thanks for being obedient to God's call on your life and helping so many of us on our walk with our Savior. - B. H.
Your ministry has made a significant impact in my life and that of my family.
First ... Almost four weeks ago, my 24 year old brother Jake died in a work-related accident. He was a Christian who wasn't afraid to challenge himself and others to test and prove what they believe. He also had a strong desire to share his faith with others. Anyway, I digress. Because of his love for Jesus, I know where he is. At times like this, ironically, while I am more reassured than ever of the reality of heaven, I am also prompted to verify what I believe. One of the first places I looked was on your sight. It both challenged and reassured me. Thank you.
Second ... I have read the online version of your pamphlet on birth control. Since that time my husband and I have decided to find an alternate method of birth control. It was a tough move to make, but a desire to do what is pleasing to God as well as a growing faith in His plan for our lives (as opposed to our own) made it easier. Thank you for informing us.
Due to the events of the last month in combination with the work of the Holy Spirit, my perspective has changed. It has made me realize that this world is not my home and the cost of serving the Lord wholeheartedly is not worth anything I could gain otherwise. - S. P.
Thank you for your information on birth control. Being strongly prolife and a biology major, it has always been in the back of my mind that birth control pills caused abortions. Thank you for sending the message to others that are prolife. Right now you can pray for my husband and I as we are trying to conceive another child and are having difficulties and am searching for answers, hence I came upon your site. - M. B.
I just felt like I should share with you that almost two weeks ago, I stopped taking the birth control pill. It was not an easy decision to make; by God's grace I was able to take this huge step of faith. But it would have been much harder had I not had the support of my godly husband. It was he who read your book first. I thank God that he did not give up trying to get me to read it. Honestly, I did not want to. To me, the birth control pill represented such freedom and such independence. I always had the perspective that w/o the pill, there was such a high percentage that I would be the loser in it all. I would be the one to have to carry the child at such a young age, (I'm only 21). I would be the one to have to pretty much lose my youthful figure. I would be the one to be cheated out of an education. Do you notice how many " I " statements were just mentioned?
The Lord used your book in my life to help me see that being blessed by him with a child with the man that I love would not make me the "loser", b/c children are a blessing, and not a curse. He also showed me that I was losing a whole lot more by taking the pill....my health, and quite possibly, our baby...
Thank you so much for being bold, Randy. I know many Christians have probably given you a hard time for what you take a stand for, but please let my story encourage you today and tomorrow too. Elton and I will keep you, your family, and your ministry in our prayers. - K. W.
I've read through your book Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions? and I'd like to thank you for putting together such an informative work.
I first learned about the pill's abortifacient nature when The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform came to the University of Kansas last year. One of their representatives brought up the issue, which I had never even considered.
Have you written any small pamphlets or brochures that outline the scientific and medical evidence presented in your book? I've spoken to several of my friends here at college who take the pill, and none of them were aware of the issue of potential abortion. If there were a small brochure (with the theme "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About The Pill") that could be given out on campus, I think it would do a great deal for public awareness of the issue.
Again, thank you for writing your book. I'll be sending a copy of it to my brother and his wife, who just graduated from medical school this past May. They're Christians (unlike me) so they are probably already aware of the issue, but it never hurts for them to have an excellent source, such as your book, handy. - C. J.
Just thought I'd write and say thanks for the excellent job you've done with the BC pill document.
I got married in March this year. I am pro-life in stance; however the issue of how the Pill worked had not really occurred to me. My plan was logical....3 months before the wedding, go on the Pill, one per day, no worries. As the wedding approached however I had a bit of a niggly feeling about it. I remembered reading *somewhere* - and I can't say where or when—that the Pill caused abortions.
This was enough for me to feel uncomfortable about it. I sat at my fiancé's computer surfing the web, looking for something to prove me right or wrong - it didn't really matter which, just I/we needed to know.
We found a few sites, which said the Pill caused abortions—but a lot of them also said that all contraception was wrong, and didn't back up what little they said about the Pill with references or anything. (I wasn't going to make a decision based on a source that may or not be valid)
Anyway, looking, looking, looking, and we came across your article. Well it settled the issue for us, immediately. It is so clear, and proves to us that YES the Pill can cause abortions, and probably does. So instead of taking the Pill, we're using a sort of high-tech natural family planning (Persona, from www.birthcontrol.com) Thank God for the Internet! - R. W.
I have ready your booklet called Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions? I found it very interesting and informative and am going to pass this website on to friends. I had heard from a pharmacist friend of mine that the Pill can cause an abortion but was unsure because I had not had evidence, so I started some research using the Internet. This is how I came across your booklet. I read the first section, and skimmed the second and third sections. I, myself, had been on the Pill for about 2 1/2 years but decided to go off because there are too many risks involved and because my husband and I attended a Bill Gothard seminar in which he spoke of birth control.
I do believe in some type of birth control, as in abstinence or using a condom during the fertile period, but my eyes were opened after attending this seminar that I was putting extra doses of hormones into my body that were unnatural, that was made by man, therefore going against what God intended. We also convinced some friends of ours to go off the Pill, him being a pharmacist and he also began some research into the abortifacient effects of the Pill.
Thanks again for posting this on the World Wide Web. Hopefully some Christians will take this to heart. - C. D.
I just finished reading through your paper Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions? on the internet. I am a 23-year-old Christian woman and I'm getting married this summer. My fiancé and I assumed birth control was the easiest and most effective option for us, since we know we won't be ready for children anytime soon. Although we are not sexually active now, I had planned to start the Pill to regulate my cycle before the wedding, and stay on the Pill indefinitely after we were married. I went to the doctor, got the prescription, and thought I was all set-but I had a funny feeling about it. I couldn't have told you why, since all I knew about the Pill was that it prevented conception.
I asked my fiancé if he thought taking birth control pills was morally wrong, since we are both pro-life. He said there wasn't any reason he knew of, but if he saw evidence to the contrary he'd reconsider it. I decided to keep researching and came across your paper. I'm so glad I found it! I didn't want it to be true since I was looking for my own convenience, but now that I've seen your research I feel a big sense of relief, like a load has been lifted. I told my fiancé about your research and he took it pretty hard, as I did, but we agreed that if we really believe life begins at conception we can't knowingly participate in the taking of that life. I might have my terms mixed up but what I mean to say is that life begins when the egg is fertilized, regardless of when it's implanted.
We are now investigating methods of Natural Family Planning, and although we still have some talking and praying to do before we reach a final decision, I feel led (I think my fiancé does too) that this is a better way to go. I'm so glad you've done this research and made it available to people.
I have just finished reading your booklet Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions? I wanted to say thank you for writing it and publishing it on the net. God's timing is interesting. I've been wanting to get off the pill for some months now and last night felt quite strongly that I would not renew my prescription. However, I was still debating back and forth as to whether I should do so. Today, while looking for alternative methods on the Epigee site, I came across your article and have now an excellent reason to stay off of the pill.
I appreciate your thoroughness of research, your unbiased tone, your honesty (that you and your wife had at one point used the pill and that you'd recommended it to other couples), and your words of encouragement based on Scripture at the end of the booklet. I feel rather stunned at present, having realized the abortive effects of taking the pill, but am grateful that I know the truth and can now wisely choose to stay off of it. - P. K.
I came across your booklet Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions? last week. I must admit I was devastated to discover the information you so eloquently presented. My husband and I are Christians, just celebrating our first anniversary last week. We both immediately decided that the only course of action open to us was to immediately stop taking the pill.
I am also a writer. I contacted the editor for one of the college webzines I write for, and she has agreed to post an article I am in the process of writing regarding the abortive effects of the pill and my personal reaction to the discovery. I plan to incorporate a great deal of your research.
Although this was not at all the information I ever wanted to find, I am grateful that you took the time to make the truth known. I hope I can do the same. - D. E.
