A Dialogue Between a Prolife Christian Ethicist and a Christian Who is Arguing that Abortion is Not Off Limits for Christians

I have come to the conclusion that abortion may not be as off limits for Christians as the church professes it to be be. I have laid out my argument below. What do you think?

Does Seasonale birth control pill act as an abortifacient like other pills?

The director of education at the Crisis Pregnancy Center I volunteer at was recently somewhere listening to a Pro-Life contraceptive expert who was telling them about Seasonale, a new birth control pill that supposedly doesn't change the lining of a woman's uterus. I asked my OB's nurse about it and go the impression that it works no differently than the current BC pills, only you have a period 4x a year. I was wondering if you have done any research on this Pill, and if so, what have you found about it? Is it an abortifacient? Or is it safe?

Does the patch cause abortions, and where can I find more information about it?

Like the Pill it also functions to prevent or end a pregnancy in three ways.

Doesn’t breastfeeding do the same thing as the Pill?

On page 63 of the 5th edition of Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions?, you mention a physician as stating that breastfeeding can cause abortions similar to hormonal contraception. You then quote a Dr. Hayes as stating that ovulation does not take place during breastfeeding, unlike the Pill, which can allow ovulation. I've come across some research done about 15 years ago that does document a fair number of ovulations during breastfeeding (see bottom of page). This research seems to indicate that in the few cycles immediately postpartum for a non-lactating mother and a few cycles when menstruation begins for a lactating mother, there is a possibility of an ovum being fertilized but not implanting due to inadequate corpus luteum. This is not direct evidence that breastfeeding prevents implantation of a zygote, but it is evidence that it could happen, probably with greater frequency than that with hormonal contraception.

“Morning After Pill”

Is there any new material addressing the scientific and ethical questions of the “morning after pill” and the whole abortifacient issue?

Randy Alcorn has a revised ProLife Answers to ProChoice Arguments as well as his book Why ProLife? published in 2004. He has taken great care to cite all original sources for his readers so that they may use the books not only for reading, but as reference tools. Randy is, as far as I know, the most synthesized writer on the topic. By that I mean that he has done an extraordinary analysis of the available evidence and has put it into a format that is accessible and comprehensible to the average reader.

What about those who say there is no abortive affect to BCPs?

I have recently brought the subject of abortifacient birth control to the elders of my church; they are totally unaware of this and have asked me to pull together information for them. All my research has been the same across the board, denying the effect, except for this one pro-life Christian ministry, Baptists for Life. What do you guys say?

How does a saline abortion kill a baby?

I have a friend who is not a Christian who is having triplets. The doctors are advising her to abort one of them to keep her pregnancy low risk. Initially, she had taken everyone’s advice to not do this, but she now has a blood clot and the doctors are pressuring her to still abort one of them. She is not from this country and does not know much about what these procedures actually do. The doctor’s told her they would inject whichever baby was in best position with a saline solution. I think that I remember reading an article in one of your magazines describing this kind of procedure and what it actually does to the baby. I would like to share this information with her because she seems to be moved by this type of appeal.

How would you advise someone to begin to make a case for the babies while not condoning their actions, and being “sensitive” to the post-abortive state of denial?

I am a Hispanic, a female who is a member of an online Hispanic community. The members are discussing abortion and I am simply at the end of my rope (after being attacked for being conservative and having to defend myself on many, other points)! They’ve started an opinion board, after first reminding us that we need to “respect each others’ opinions,” about abortion. Before I could get to respond to the 100% pro-abortion opinions, women starting discussing their personal experiences with abortion and how they made great choices and now I feel disarmed. If I am to make any comments, I will be booted off and criticized for sure (which wouldn’t be so bad), because I will be “judging” those who killed babies.

I read an article by four physicians that makes the case that ovulation normally causes a rapid build-up of the endometrial tissues…

I read an article by four physicians that makes the case that ovulation normally causes a rapid build-up of the endometrial tissues; that anytime a woman on the pill ovulates, the surge of hormones accompanying ovulation counteracts any abortifacient effect on the endometrium. As for one of Alcorn’s most powerful evidences, the evidence from ectopic pregnancy ratios, they maintain that those studies only concern progestin-only pills (and so do not apply to combination pills). What’s interesting is that these physicians take as fact the effect the combination pills have on the endometrium but simply deny this effect ever ...

I’ve got some questions relating to the different degrees of thickness of the endometrium.

I’ve got some questions related to the data presented in your booklet regarding the different degrees of thickness of the endometrium. Also, doesn’t breastfeeding work the same as the pill in preventing ovulation and therefore it doesn’t produce a thick endometrium?

At the top of page 19 you quote, as evidence of the importance of endometrial thickness, a study showing that it’s a good indication of pregnancy, that thicknesses less than 7mm never were sustaining pregnancies. On page 20 you use the number 5-13mm for sustained pregnancy, and 1.1mm for average pill users, “who clearly ...