Is Plan B an abortifacient?
Some defenders of Gov. Gilmore's position on the Board of Directors of Barr Pharmaceuticals (manufacturers of the morning after pill, Plan B) have declared that Plan B is only a contraceptive and not an abortifacient.
However, while Barr Labs claims that the morning after pill (Plan B) is not "the abortion pill" RU-486, it nevertheless acts as an abortifacient in one of its two birth control methods.
One might want to take a look at one of Barr Labs own web sites where you will find information that Plan B works in more than one way. While one method, they cite is... "Plan B® works like a regular birth control pill. It prevents pregnancy mainly by stopping the release of an egg from the ovary, and may also prevent the fertilization of an egg (the uniting of sperm with the egg)." and that is truly a method of contraception, the second method they describe is an abortifacient They describe the second method as follows..."Plan B® may also work by preventing it from attaching to the uterus (womb)." They then go on to exclaim that..."It is important to know that Plan B® will not affect a fertilized egg already attached to the uterus;..." Unfortunately, what they fail to note is that fertilization noramlly takes place in the fallopian tube, prior to being attached to the uterus. As a result, conception has already taken place and a new "person" has already been created. Thus, if a fertilized egg is prevented from being implanted in the uterus, the fertilized egg is aborted. See http://www.go2planb.com/ForConsumers/AboutPlanB/HowItWorks.aspx
They go on to say on a different page that... "Remember that you have only a few days to prevent a pregnancy after unprotected sex. If it is taken within 3 days (72 hours) after unprotected sex, it will decrease the chance that you will get pregnant by up to 89%. " If the egg has already been released and is descending down the Fallopian Tube when the unprotected sex takes place, then the likelihood is that the egg will be fertilized prior to the taking of Plan B is extremely high. Thus when the now fertilized egg descends into the uterus and implantation is prevented by Plan B, then Plan B has worked in this instance as an abortifacient. See...
http://www.go2planb.com/ForConsumers/AboutPlanB/WhatisPlanB.aspx
"A rose by any other name is still a rose."
However, while Barr Labs claims that the morning after pill (Plan B) is not "the abortion pill" RU-486, it nevertheless acts as an abortifacient in one of its two birth control methods.
One might want to take a look at one of Barr Labs own web sites where you will find information that Plan B works in more than one way. While one method, they cite is... "Plan B® works like a regular birth control pill. It prevents pregnancy mainly by stopping the release of an egg from the ovary, and may also prevent the fertilization of an egg (the uniting of sperm with the egg)." and that is truly a method of contraception, the second method they describe is an abortifacient They describe the second method as follows..."Plan B® may also work by preventing it from attaching to the uterus (womb)." They then go on to exclaim that..."It is important to know that Plan B® will not affect a fertilized egg already attached to the uterus;..." Unfortunately, what they fail to note is that fertilization noramlly takes place in the fallopian tube, prior to being attached to the uterus. As a result, conception has already taken place and a new "person" has already been created. Thus, if a fertilized egg is prevented from being implanted in the uterus, the fertilized egg is aborted. See http://www.go2planb.com/ForConsumers/AboutPlanB/HowItWorks.aspx
They go on to say on a different page that... "Remember that you have only a few days to prevent a pregnancy after unprotected sex. If it is taken within 3 days (72 hours) after unprotected sex, it will decrease the chance that you will get pregnant by up to 89%. " If the egg has already been released and is descending down the Fallopian Tube when the unprotected sex takes place, then the likelihood is that the egg will be fertilized prior to the taking of Plan B is extremely high. Thus when the now fertilized egg descends into the uterus and implantation is prevented by Plan B, then Plan B has worked in this instance as an abortifacient. See...
http://www.go2planb.com/ForConsumers/AboutPlanB/WhatisPlanB.aspx
"A rose by any other name is still a rose."
If anyone's still interested in this, a snapshot of the page can be found here: http://web.archive.org/web/20080620031846/http://www.go2planb.com/ForConsumers/AboutPlanB/HowItWorks.aspx
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