All of us who have been fighting Planned Parenthood for quite some time have seen all sorts of different tactics that PP uses to bring in customers. It’s National Condom Day or “Proper Attire” condoms are just some examples. In PP’s eyes, why not take advantage of the STD crisis in our country, with every one in four teenage girl having an STD, and make up some phrase to get customers into its clinics – looking as if it really does care.
MTV and the Kaiser Family Foundation joined in on PP’s latest marketing push called “Get Yourself Tested” or GYT for short. Even calling it GYT is an attempt to be more teen savvy since many of our youth are on the internet instant messaging, and texting on their cell phones. Using acronyms is a form of communication that today’s youth are using. For example, “Talk to you later” is TTYL.
This latest scheme, Get Yourself Tested, is something PP hopes will encourage young people to talk about getting tested for STDs so frequently that it would be like getting an oil change for your car. Everyone needs to get it done, so when are you going in? Yet, we know this is another stunt to push its promiscuous propaganda, but do our teens realize what PP is doing to them? Brainwashing them to come into their clinics – supposedly to be tested for an STD, and at the same time give you condoms and sell you birth control; thus making more business and help spread STDs and thus creating more business.
Several reports have been seen across the country of different PP affiliates and clinics advertising this new marketing ploy. I must share the article with you from the Michigan Messenger that described this new initiative and yet came out and said that while PP clinics charge for STD testing, most Michigan Health Departments offer the testing free. Hmm. Interesting. Even some of the secular media sees PP’s ploy for bringing in the money.
I sympathize with the people in Africa who are suffering with AIDS, some think that condoms are the solution. However, last month Pope Benedict came out with a statement saying that distributing condoms only makes the problem worse. Edward C. Green, Harvard University's director of the AIDS Prevention Research Project stated that the pope is correct. Shocker.
The problem is that teens and young adults are using condoms and birth control thinking that these types of things actually can protect them from getting an STD! PP is teaching them that relying on contraception and abortion is safe. Unfortunately this is very scary when every one in four abortions occurs at PP facilities, and according to the Center of Disease Control, the cases of syphilis in the U.S. from 2001 to 2007 continue to increase.
We need to be educating our young people on chastity. We need to show them that PP’s tactics are NOT helping them. We need parents talking about it, grandparents talking about it. The youth of our country and world today face many pressures and PP is behind a lot of that. We must get this organization out of our schools and out of our kids’ lives! Take a stand and educate your community on the evils of PP.
Showing posts with label Contraception. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Contraception. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
PLANNED PARENTHOOD HONORS SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON FOR HER COMMITMENT TO WOMEN’S HEALTH CARE
Actor America Ferrera Co-Hosts Celebration
HOUSTON, TX — On March 27, 2009, Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) proudly honored reproductive health and rights advocates who have made significant contributions to the advancement of women’s health care through their work promoting prevention and family planning, and presented its highest honor, the PPFA Margaret Sanger Award, to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Secretary Clinton received this award for her unwavering support of women’s health and rights throughout her public service career. Actor America Ferrera co-hosted the event with PPFA President Cecile Richards.
“It was a great privilege when I was told that I would receive this award,” said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, in accepting the award. “It’s part of a movement which is about economic and political progress for all women and girls. It’s about making sure that every woman and girl everywhere has the opportunity she deserves to fulfill her potential, the potential as a mother, worker and human being. The overarching mission of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the cause of reproductive freedom that you continue to advance today is as relevant in our world now as it was 100 years ago. So, I thank you.”
“Throughout her public service career, as first lady of the United States, as a U.S. senator, and now as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton has blazed a path to make health care affordable and available to all Americans,” said Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards. “We are honored to work alongside such a champion of health care reform to meet the needs of women, men, and families across the country.”
The PPFA Maggie Award for Television was awarded to The CW program Privileged for the episode, “All About the Power Position,” which entertained and educated the public about safer sex and the HPV vaccine. Writer and producer Rina Mimoun and Privileged actor JoAnna Garcia accepted the award. The Maggie Award for Television recognizes exceptional contributions by the entertainment industry that enhance the public's understanding of reproductive rights and health care issues.
“The creators of Privileged seized an opportunity to educate young viewers about the emotional responsibilities that come with sexual relationships,” said Richards. “Planned Parenthood applauds Privileged for its socially responsible message.”
PPFA’s “Walk the Talk” Award recognized Audre and Bernard Rapoport of Waco, TX, for their tremendous generosity and decades-long commitment to supporting Planned Parenthood in Texas. A Corporate Leadership Award was presented to Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP, for contributing invaluable legal advice that led to significant changes in the PPFA bylaws and governance structure — and for providing critical and ongoing legal support to the PPFA PROPER ATTIRE® condom program. Lillian Tamayo, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of South Florida and the Treasure Coast was honored with the Ruth Green Award, which is presented to a Planned Parenthood affiliate chief executive chosen by her or his peers for outstanding leadership with board volunteers in planning, public affairs, and fundraising.
The awards gala was the highlight of the 2009 Planned Parenthood National Conference.
Planned Parenthood offers free implantable birth control to Iowa women who have no insurance
Leave it to Planned Parenthood to take care of women when the economy gets bad.
Implantable birth control offered free to Iowa women
Free, implantable birth-control devices are being offered to women throughout Iowa, paid for through a multimillion-dollar project financed by an anonymous donor.
Women can choose intrauterine devices, known as IUDs, or Implanon, a matchstick-size hormone-releasing device that is put into the upper arm.
The devices can last several years. Unlike birth-control pills or patches, they don't require women to remember to take any action.
"You are much less likely to have an unintended pregnancy. That's the real upside," said Penny Dickey, Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa's chief operating officer.
Planned Parenthood branches around Iowa expect to give away about 1,400 of the devices in the next year. The agencies will bill patients' insurance if they have coverage, but won't charge people who have no insurance, Dickey said. The offer, worth several hundred dollars, includes the cost of having a medical professional insert the device and remove it if a patient decides she wants to get pregnant.
Visiting Nurse Services in Des Moines is making a similar offer. Vice President Keri Lebeda Townsend said the agency has seen an increase in requests for help with birth control.
"Some women have been laid off or maybe they're working part time and they don't have insurance," Townsend said.
The offer, which started last year, is financed by an anonymous donation coordinated by the Iowa Initiative to Reduce Unintended Pregnancies, a group led by former Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack. The group also finances other forms of birth control.
Like many things in medicine, the devices do have possible side effects, which can include cramping or other menstrual issues, and they offer no protection against sexually transmitted diseases.
Dickey, the Planned Parenthood leader, said her agency encourages women to use the implantable devices only if they want to put off pregnancy for several years. Although the effects of the devices are easily reversible, she said, the agency doesn't want to spend several hundred dollars on a long-term form of birth control if the patient plans to stop using it quickly.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Can Planned Parenthood get any more stupid?
Seriously folks, when fighting Planned Parenthood you will run into some things that really have you wondering, how stupid can PP get? With a desperate cry to get more people into its clinics, PP of South Texas is sponsoring a competition of who can make the most creative outfit…out of condoms. Can you say stupid? I’m sure plenty of other things come to mind, but with $336.7 million of your tax dollars, this ridiculous business must be shut down.
If you haven’t picked up on it yet, PP is trying to make condoms into some kind of fashion. With its most recent attempts of selling “Proper Attire” condoms with a new “collection” of condoms, PP is once again trying to desensitize the young people of our generation and lure them into its clinics.
The event in South Texas is titled Project Slicker 2009 and the condoms to create these costumes “will be provided free of charge to registered artists.”
This condom on the brain, baby-killing organization must be defeated. With all of its nonsense and medically inaccurate information, PP still claims to know it all. PP supposedly has “leaders” that offer a “robust vision and commonsense solutions designed to protect women’s health and safety and the basic human rights of us all.”
Give me a break.
Sign the petition to stop PP agenda: http://www.stopp.org/agenda/
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Harvard AIDS Expert Says Pope is Correct on Condom Distribution Making AIDS Worse
March 19, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Edward C. Green, director of the AIDS Prevention Research Project at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, has said that the evidence confirms that the Pope is correct in his assessment that condom distribution exacerbates the problem of AIDS.
"The pope is correct," Green told National Review Online Wednesday, "or put it a better way, the best evidence we have supports the pope's comments."
"There is," Green added, "a consistent association shown by our best studies, including the U.S.-funded 'Demographic Health Surveys,' between greater availability and use of condoms and higher (not lower) HIV-infection rates. This may be due in part to a phenomenon known as risk compensation, meaning that when one uses a risk-reduction 'technology' such as condoms, one often loses the benefit (reduction in risk) by 'compensating' or taking greater chances than one would take without the risk-reduction technology." ( see the full interview with Green here.
The Harvard AIDS Project's webpage on Green lists his book "Rethinking AIDS Prevention: Learning from Successes in Developing Countries". It is stated that Green reveals, "The largely medical solutions funded by major donors have had little impact in Africa, the continent hardest hit by AIDS. Instead, relatively simple, low-cost behavioral change programs--stressing increased monogamy and delayed sexual activity for young people--have made the greatest headway in fighting or preventing the disease's spread."
The full text of Pope Benedict XVI's exchange with the reporter, which has set off a firestorm around the world in the media, has been released by the Vatican press office.
The pope was asked, "Holy Father among the many evils that affect Africa there is also the particular problem of the spread of AIDS. The position of the Catholic Church for fighting this evil is frequently considered unrealistic and ineffective?"
Benedict XVI replied:
"I would say the opposite. I think that the reality that is most effective, the most present and the strongest in the fight against AIDS, is precisely that of the Catholic Church, with its programs and its diversity. I think of the Sant'Egidio Community, which does so much visibly and invisibly in the fight against AIDS ... and of all the sisters at the service of the sick.
"I would say that one cannot overcome this problem of AIDS only with money -- which is important, but if there is no soul, no people who know how to use it, (money) doesn't help.
"One cannot overcome the problem with the distribution of condoms. On the contrary, they increase the problem.
"The solution can only be a double one: first, a humanization of sexuality, that is, a spiritual human renewal that brings with it a new way of behaving with one another; second, a true friendship even and especially with those who suffer, and a willingness to make personal sacrifices and to be with the suffering. And these are factors that help and that result in real and visible progress.
"Therefore I would say this is our double strength -- to renew the human being from the inside, to give him spiritual human strength for proper behavior regarding one's own body and toward the other person, and the capacity to suffer with the suffering. ... I think this is the proper response and the church is doing this, and so it offers a great and important contribution. I thank all those who are doing this."
See Dr. Green's impressive credentials and list of publications.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Pope: Condoms 'Increase' AIDS Epidemic in Africa
If only someone would listen...
Pope Benedict XVI said Tuesday that the distribution of condoms is not the answer in the fight against AIDS in Africa.
Benedict has never before spoken explicitly on condom use although he has stressed that the Roman Catholic Church is in the forefront of the battle against AIDS. The Vatican encourages sexual abstinence to fight the spread of the disease.
"You can't resolve it with the distribution of condoms," the pope told reporters aboard the Alitalia plane headed to Yaounde, Cameroon. "On the contrary, it increases the problem."
Some priests and nuns working with victims of the AIDS pandemic ravaging Africa question the church's opposition to condoms.
The pope also said that he intends to make an appeal for "international solidarity" for Africa in the face of the global economic downturn.
He said that while the church does not propose specific economic solutions, it can give "spiritual and moral" suggestions.
Describing the current crisis as the consequence of "a deficit of ethics in economic structures," the pope said, "It is here that the church can make a contribution."
Benedict's seven-day pilgrimage will take him to Cameroon and Angola.
Africa is the fastest-growing region for the Roman Catholic Church.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Study: Women Who Use Birth Control Pill 1.5 Times More Likely to Develop Bowel Disease
LONDON, UK, March 13, 2009 - A study on the role of oral contraceptives in the cause of inflammatory bowel disease, published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, found that women who use the pill are one and a half times more likely to develop Crohn's disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC) than women who have not used oral contraceptives.
The research by doctors at the Gastroenterology Unit of St. Mary's Hospital, Imperial College, and the Department of Surgery of St. Mark's Hospital, London, reported that a total of 75,815 patients were involved in the study of the etiology of UC and CD between 1983 and 2007. Of these women, 36,797 used the oral contraceptive pill (OCP) and 39,018 did not.
The report stated that the relative risk of developing Crohn's disease increased with a prolonged exposure to the OCP. Whereas the overall average of increased risk was 1 1/2 times, the relative risk of developing CD for a woman who has used the pill for three years increases to almost 3.5 times.
This study has also shown that the risk associated with OCP exposure was reversed to that of the non-exposed population after stopping the use of the drug.
The adjustment of the results for smoking was an important aspect of this analysis, since it was found that smokers are more likely to take the OCP, and oral contraceptive users have been reported as more likely to smoke. The adjustments for smoking increased the relative risk of CD and decreased the risk of UC.
The study also suggested that a reduction in the estrogen and progesterone dosages in OCPs over the last two decades has not reduced the relative risk of inflammatory bowel disease in women who use the contraceptive pill.
An abstract of the study is available here.
Read related SLN articles on the dangers of the oral contraceptive pill:
Birth Control Pill May Cause Prostate Cancer and Bladder Disease in Mothers' Children
Birth Control Pill Raises Heart Attack Risk 100%
Massive Study Finds the Pill Significantly Increases Cancer Risk if Used more than Eight Years
Birth Control Pill Linked to Hardening of the Arteries
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Studies Find Contraception Makes Women Obese and Newborns Too Thin
OTTAWA, March 9, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - University of Ottawa researchers have found that women who conceive within a month of taking birth-control pills tend to have premature babies or babies with a low birth weight. At the same time, another study from the University of Texas has revealed that users of the contraceptive "shot" are significantly more likely than other women to become obese.
Xi-Kuan Chen, an epidemiologist and senior analyst with the Canadian Institute for Health Information at the University of Ottawa said doctors should inform patients of the link between chemical contraceptives and low birth weight, which is a growing problem in Canada, because children born too thin are likely to suffer health problems later in life.
"Doctors should be bringing this to the attention of patients," said Dr. Chen in a National Post report. "When they consult with some patients, they should suggest there might be some effect for them."
The study used the singularly comprehensive database of the Saskatchewan drug and medicare plans to look at 1,500 women, divided into three groups, who had taken contraceptive drugs within 30 days, 31-60 days and 61-90 days of their last period before becoming pregnant. They then compared the birth weight of their children with 6,100 women who had not used birth-control pills for at least a year before they gave birth.
Analysis of the data showed that women who had taken the pill within 30 days of getting pregnant were more than three times as likely to have a very low-weight newborn (under 3.3 lbs) and twice as likely to have a child born weighing less than 5.5 pounds or to deliver the child six weeks prematurely.
The report also showed that the longer the abstention from contraceptive drugs before conceiving, the closer the newborns birth weight would be to those women who had not used birth-control pills.
Dr. Chen said that although the study does not definitively prove a cause-and-effect relationship and needs to be confirmed by more research because it did not take into account factors such as smoking, which also contribute to low birth weight and prematurity, the results of the study should not be ignored.
At the same time as the findings of Dr. Chen's study are being reported, Dr. Abbey Berenson at the University of Texas Medical Branch has revealed that the use of certain contraceptive drugs causes significant weight gain and an increase in body fat, according to a study published in the current issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Dr. Berenson and her team of researchers studied the use of the contraceptive drug depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), commercially known as Depo-Provera, which is delivered in the form of a shot, and found that DMPA users were more than twice as likely to become obese as women who did not use that contraceptive drug.
"Women and their doctors should factor in this new data when choosing the most appropriate birth control method," said Berenson.
"One concern is DMPA's link to increased abdominal fat, a known component of metabolic syndrome, which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and diabetes."
See related LSN articles:
Abortion-Causing Birth Control Patch Manufacturer Faces Class-Action Lawsuit
Two Canadian Women Die from Use of Contraceptive Patch; Sixteen More Suffer Blood Clots
The Pill: "the largest unregulated human trial that's ever been conducted"
Xi-Kuan Chen, an epidemiologist and senior analyst with the Canadian Institute for Health Information at the University of Ottawa said doctors should inform patients of the link between chemical contraceptives and low birth weight, which is a growing problem in Canada, because children born too thin are likely to suffer health problems later in life.
"Doctors should be bringing this to the attention of patients," said Dr. Chen in a National Post report. "When they consult with some patients, they should suggest there might be some effect for them."
The study used the singularly comprehensive database of the Saskatchewan drug and medicare plans to look at 1,500 women, divided into three groups, who had taken contraceptive drugs within 30 days, 31-60 days and 61-90 days of their last period before becoming pregnant. They then compared the birth weight of their children with 6,100 women who had not used birth-control pills for at least a year before they gave birth.
Analysis of the data showed that women who had taken the pill within 30 days of getting pregnant were more than three times as likely to have a very low-weight newborn (under 3.3 lbs) and twice as likely to have a child born weighing less than 5.5 pounds or to deliver the child six weeks prematurely.
The report also showed that the longer the abstention from contraceptive drugs before conceiving, the closer the newborns birth weight would be to those women who had not used birth-control pills.
Dr. Chen said that although the study does not definitively prove a cause-and-effect relationship and needs to be confirmed by more research because it did not take into account factors such as smoking, which also contribute to low birth weight and prematurity, the results of the study should not be ignored.
At the same time as the findings of Dr. Chen's study are being reported, Dr. Abbey Berenson at the University of Texas Medical Branch has revealed that the use of certain contraceptive drugs causes significant weight gain and an increase in body fat, according to a study published in the current issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Dr. Berenson and her team of researchers studied the use of the contraceptive drug depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), commercially known as Depo-Provera, which is delivered in the form of a shot, and found that DMPA users were more than twice as likely to become obese as women who did not use that contraceptive drug.
"Women and their doctors should factor in this new data when choosing the most appropriate birth control method," said Berenson.
"One concern is DMPA's link to increased abdominal fat, a known component of metabolic syndrome, which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and diabetes."
See related LSN articles:
Abortion-Causing Birth Control Patch Manufacturer Faces Class-Action Lawsuit
Two Canadian Women Die from Use of Contraceptive Patch; Sixteen More Suffer Blood Clots
The Pill: "the largest unregulated human trial that's ever been conducted"
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Nothing says romance like 'National Condom Week'
Planned Parenthood’s ‘National Condom Week’
As many of you already know, PP is an organization that kills for profit and lures young people into its clinics to sell them birth control and abortions, while promoting sexual promiscuity for youth in particular and society in general. Once again, PP is attempting to twist a day on which we traditionally send love notes and chocolates to the persons we love into another marketing opportunity.
February 14, Valentine’s Day, is fast approaching, and unfortunately, PP is once again lying to youth and young adults by telling them that not using a condom means they do not love the other person. PP, the nation’s largest abortion chain, certainly does not know what love is! PP takes Valentine’s Day and calls it “National Condom Day.” We have also come across situations wherein PP has labeled the week in which Valentine’s Day occurs (February 7–14) as “National Condom Week” and the entire month of February “National Condom Month.”
Take, for example, PP of Golden Gate in California – an affiliate known not only for making atrocious videos to sell more birth control and abortions, but also for bragging about concealing the rape of an 11-year-old girl on its web site. Now it is encouraging people to send condom e-cards for “Valentine’s Day/National Condom Week.”
Upper Hudson PP in New York plans to celebrate “National Condom Week” by giving businesses drink coasters displaying PP’s condoms and a character who says, “No glove, no love!” It has also provided “safer sex” kits to those who answered questions correctly as part of its question and answer game at Muddy Cup, an Albany coffee shop.
In the past, “National Condom Week” kicked off on February 14 at most PP affiliates. However, whether it starts before or after February 14, its motive hasn’t changed: PP wants your money and wants you to believe the lies. So, we need to continue to spread the truth: Living a promiscuous lifestyle will NOT solve your problems, and it will NOT bring you love. It will, however, increase your chances of getting an STD or AIDS. Living the life of chastity is the way to really show someone you love him/her. You also love yourself by respecting yourself and others, and ultimately, you love Christ by living the way He wants us to live. Living and loving others in this way brings authentic freedom – something PP knows nothing about.
As many of you already know, PP is an organization that kills for profit and lures young people into its clinics to sell them birth control and abortions, while promoting sexual promiscuity for youth in particular and society in general. Once again, PP is attempting to twist a day on which we traditionally send love notes and chocolates to the persons we love into another marketing opportunity.
February 14, Valentine’s Day, is fast approaching, and unfortunately, PP is once again lying to youth and young adults by telling them that not using a condom means they do not love the other person. PP, the nation’s largest abortion chain, certainly does not know what love is! PP takes Valentine’s Day and calls it “National Condom Day.” We have also come across situations wherein PP has labeled the week in which Valentine’s Day occurs (February 7–14) as “National Condom Week” and the entire month of February “National Condom Month.”
Take, for example, PP of Golden Gate in California – an affiliate known not only for making atrocious videos to sell more birth control and abortions, but also for bragging about concealing the rape of an 11-year-old girl on its web site. Now it is encouraging people to send condom e-cards for “Valentine’s Day/National Condom Week.”
Upper Hudson PP in New York plans to celebrate “National Condom Week” by giving businesses drink coasters displaying PP’s condoms and a character who says, “No glove, no love!” It has also provided “safer sex” kits to those who answered questions correctly as part of its question and answer game at Muddy Cup, an Albany coffee shop.
In the past, “National Condom Week” kicked off on February 14 at most PP affiliates. However, whether it starts before or after February 14, its motive hasn’t changed: PP wants your money and wants you to believe the lies. So, we need to continue to spread the truth: Living a promiscuous lifestyle will NOT solve your problems, and it will NOT bring you love. It will, however, increase your chances of getting an STD or AIDS. Living the life of chastity is the way to really show someone you love him/her. You also love yourself by respecting yourself and others, and ultimately, you love Christ by living the way He wants us to live. Living and loving others in this way brings authentic freedom – something PP knows nothing about.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Ringling College and Planned Parenthood
At the beginning of each performance of the Ringling Brothers circus, the ringmaster exclaims, "Ladies and gentlemen and children of all ages ..."
But, the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida is near a final decision on a lease with Planned Parenthood in Sarasota that will put artwork from the college’s students directly below a Planned Parenthood abortion facility – where future circus attendees will be killed.
Under the lease, reportedly at $1 a year for 99 years, the school would display student art in a 1,000-square-foot street-level gallery in the new Planned Parenthood building. The gallery would be visible from the sidewalk through a large glass wall. Patrons could go inside to view the art closely and the school reportedly would have at least some of the art for sale.
On the floor just above the proposed gallery is Planned Parenthood's new abortion facility that will commit an estimated 1,000 abortions a year.
In a previous statement, Ringling college president Dr. Larry Thompson said the school would not be supporting Planned Parenthood but its own students. He added: "As an organization, Ringling School does not espouse any views on the activities of Planned Parenthood or any pro-life organization. We are not a part of any of those organizations and do not intend to be."
Can you imagine a college bearing the prestigious Ringling name not caring about the killing of children? Can you imagine students proudly displaying their art while wondering if blood will drip from the ceiling onto their work? Can you imagine how gallery visitors will react when they learn what is occurring over their heads?
The Ringling family has a long and proud relationship with the arts. The Ringling Museum of Art was established 82 years ago by John and Mable Ringling. Their home, Ca d'Zan, is a treasure trove of art, visited by millions from around the world. Sarasota was the home of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for decades and its legacy remains throughout the community. The art museum grounds include a circus museum.
Now, all of this grand history will be tarnished because the Ringling College administration wants a free facility to show the students’ art. With this 99-year lease, the Ringling name will be linked to Planned Parenthood, operator of the nation's largest abortion chain, forever.
Every time the Ringling Brothers' circus arrives in any town in America, people will be reminded of the association between Ringling College and Planned Parenthood.
ACTION ALERT: Now is the time to speak out. To express your views on a student art gallery at Planned Parenthood’s killing center, contact these key people:
Larry Thompson, president
lthompso@ringling.edu
941-359-7601
Christine Meeker Lange, special assistant to the president for media and community relations
Clange@ringling.edu
941-359-7594
Dr. Tammy Walsh, dean of students
twalsh@ringling.edu
941-359-7509
(50 students are in the Catholic student group FOCUS, which operates under her authority.)
Christine DeGeorge, vice president for human organizational development
ccarnegi@ringling.edu
941-359-7619
(She is very concerned about Ringling's image and wants to keep everyone happy. Cigarette butts on campus or offensive art displayed there or bad food in the Ringling cafeteria are major concerns to her and she takes action immediately to correct the problem)
Jim Dean, dean of admissions
jdean@ringling.edu
941-359-7524
(Each student is worth $140,000 to the college.)
But, the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida is near a final decision on a lease with Planned Parenthood in Sarasota that will put artwork from the college’s students directly below a Planned Parenthood abortion facility – where future circus attendees will be killed.
Under the lease, reportedly at $1 a year for 99 years, the school would display student art in a 1,000-square-foot street-level gallery in the new Planned Parenthood building. The gallery would be visible from the sidewalk through a large glass wall. Patrons could go inside to view the art closely and the school reportedly would have at least some of the art for sale.
On the floor just above the proposed gallery is Planned Parenthood's new abortion facility that will commit an estimated 1,000 abortions a year.
In a previous statement, Ringling college president Dr. Larry Thompson said the school would not be supporting Planned Parenthood but its own students. He added: "As an organization, Ringling School does not espouse any views on the activities of Planned Parenthood or any pro-life organization. We are not a part of any of those organizations and do not intend to be."
Can you imagine a college bearing the prestigious Ringling name not caring about the killing of children? Can you imagine students proudly displaying their art while wondering if blood will drip from the ceiling onto their work? Can you imagine how gallery visitors will react when they learn what is occurring over their heads?
The Ringling family has a long and proud relationship with the arts. The Ringling Museum of Art was established 82 years ago by John and Mable Ringling. Their home, Ca d'Zan, is a treasure trove of art, visited by millions from around the world. Sarasota was the home of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for decades and its legacy remains throughout the community. The art museum grounds include a circus museum.
Now, all of this grand history will be tarnished because the Ringling College administration wants a free facility to show the students’ art. With this 99-year lease, the Ringling name will be linked to Planned Parenthood, operator of the nation's largest abortion chain, forever.
Every time the Ringling Brothers' circus arrives in any town in America, people will be reminded of the association between Ringling College and Planned Parenthood.
ACTION ALERT: Now is the time to speak out. To express your views on a student art gallery at Planned Parenthood’s killing center, contact these key people:
Larry Thompson, president
lthompso@ringling.edu
941-359-7601
Christine Meeker Lange, special assistant to the president for media and community relations
Clange@ringling.edu
941-359-7594
Dr. Tammy Walsh, dean of students
twalsh@ringling.edu
941-359-7509
(50 students are in the Catholic student group FOCUS, which operates under her authority.)
Christine DeGeorge, vice president for human organizational development
ccarnegi@ringling.edu
941-359-7619
(She is very concerned about Ringling's image and wants to keep everyone happy. Cigarette butts on campus or offensive art displayed there or bad food in the Ringling cafeteria are major concerns to her and she takes action immediately to correct the problem)
Jim Dean, dean of admissions
jdean@ringling.edu
941-359-7524
(Each student is worth $140,000 to the college.)
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Pill inventor slams ... pill
Published: January 08, 2009
Eighty five year old Carl Djerassi the Austrian chemist who helped invent the contraceptive pill now says that his co-creation has led to a "demographic catastrophe."
In an article published by the Vatican this week, the head of the world's Catholic doctors broadened the attack on the pill, claiming it had also brought "devastating ecological effects" by releasing into the environment "tonnes of hormones" that had impaired male fertility, The Taiwan Times says.
The assault began with a personal commentary in the Austrian newspaper Der Standard by Carl Djerassi. The Austrian chemist was one of three whose formulation of the synthetic progestogen Norethisterone marked a key step toward the earliest oral contraceptive pill.
Djerassi outlined the "horror scenario" that occurred because of the population imbalance, for which his invention was partly to blame. He said that in most of Europe there was now "no connection at all between sexuality and reproduction." He said: "This divide in Catholic Austria, a country which has on average 1.4 children per family, is now complete."
He described families who had decided against reproduction as "wanting to enjoy their schnitzels while leaving the rest of the world to get on with it."
The fall in the birth rate, he said, was an "epidemic" far worse, but given less attention, than obesity. Young Austrians, he said, were committing national suicide if they failed to procreate. And if it were not possible to reverse the population decline they would have to understand the necessity of an "intelligent immigration policy."
The head of Austria's Catholics, Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, told an interviewer that the Vatican had forecast 40 years ago that the pill would lead to a dramatic fall in the birth rate in the west.
"Somebody above suspicion like Carl Djerassi ... is saying that each family has to produce three children to maintain population levels, but we're far away from that," he said.
Schonborn told Austrian TV that when he first read Pope Paul VI's 1968 encyclical condemning artificial contraception he viewed it negatively as a "cold shower." But he said he had altered his views as, over time, it had proved "prophetic."
Writing for the Vatican daily, L'Osservatore Romano, the president of the World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations, Jose Maria Simon, said research from his association also showed the pill "worked in many cases with a genuinely ... abortive effect."
Angelo Bonelli, of the Italian Green party, said it was the first he had heard of a link between the pill and environmental pollution. The worst of poisons were to be found in the water supply.
"It strikes me as idiosyncratic to be worried about this," he said.
Catholic News Agency details the claims by the president of the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations, Dr Jose Maria Simon Castellvi, who outlined a series of scientific arguments said to confirm the prophetic nature of Pope Paul VI's encyclical on artificial contraception.
In an article published by the L'Osservatore Romano, the Spanish doctor pointed to the Federation's recent document commemorating the 40th anniversary of Humanae Vitae, which "irrefutably shows that the most widely used anti-ovulatory pill in the industrialised world, the one made with low doses of estrogen and progesterone, in many cases works with an anti-implantation effect; that is, abortifacient [effect], because it expels a small human embryo."
Castellvi also pointed out that "this anti-implantation effect is acknowledged in scientific literature, which shamelessly speaks of an embryo loss rate. Curiously, however, this information does not reach the public at large."
He also pointed to the "devastating ecological effects of the tons of hormones discarded into the environment each year. We have sufficient data to state that one of the causes of masculine infertility in the West is the environmental contamination caused by the products of the 'pill'." Castellvi noted as well that the International Agency for Research on Cancer reported in 2005 that the pill has carcinogenic effects.
After explaining that the "natural methods of regulating fertility are the ones that are effective and that respect the nature of the person," Castellvi stated that "in celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man we can say that the contraceptive methods violate at least five important rights: the right to life, the right to health, the right to education, the right to information (its dissemination occurs to the detriment of information about natural methods) and the right of equality between the sexes (responsibility for contraceptive use almost always falls to the woman)."
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Medical Expert Says that Contraceptive Pill is Causing Global Rise in Male Infertility
Writing for the Vatican's L'Osservatore Romano, doctor cites growing medical evidence
By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman
VATICAN CITY, January 7, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An eminent doctor writing for the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano has stated that hormones from the contraceptive pill are causing a significant rise in male infertility in western nations.
Pedro Jose Maria Simon Castellvi, President of the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations (FIAMC), writes that "we have sufficient data to affirm that one of the reasons for the not insignificant rise in male infertility in the west (due to increasingly fewer sperm in men), is the environmental contamination caused by 'the pill'."
"We are confronted with a clear anti-ecological effect that demands further explanation from the manufacturers," continued Castellvi, who also noted that the abortifacient and carcinogenic effects of the contraceptive pill are also well known (see LifeSiteNews coverage at http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09010504.html).
Castellvi's statements echo similar utterances made by numerous other medical and scientific experts since 2004. Female hormones from birth control pills, which enter the water supply through urination, are being blamed for declining sperm counts in human and animal populations, the growth of female sex organs in male fish, breast growth in young men, and early onset of puberty in young girls.
In September of last year, a scientist at the University of Montreal's Department of Chemistry announced the discovery that Montreal's water treatment plant was dumping estrogen products into rivers at a level 90 times the critical amount, a level far beyond the minimum for disrupting the fertility of fish.
Last week, Mexico's Secretariat of Health issued a warning that use of the contraceptive pill during pregnancy could raise the risk of "genital ambiguity," also known as hermaphrodism, in newborns.
"The sad thing about this is that, if we are talking about the regulation of fertility, these products are not necessary," writes Castellvi, noting that Natural Family Planning methods, which involve abstaining from sexual intercourse during the fertile period of a woman's monthly cycle, "are just as effective and furthermore they respect the nature of the person."
Despite mounting evidence indicating the harmful effects of artificial hormones on the environment, the French Press Agency reported that Castellvi's statements were "promptly dismissed by several organizations," which claimed that female hormones are present "everywhere" and change once they are digested.
Castellvi's statements are supported by a report recently issued by FIAMC, which he says contains more than 300 source citations, the majority of which are from medical publications. His article appeared in the January 4th issue of L'Osservatore Romano.
Related Links:
Estrogen 'Flooding Our Rivers,' Montreal Study Finds
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080918170628.ht...
Male fish becoming female?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6436617/
Hormones in water blamed as more men seek breast reduction
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article549956.ece
Secretariat of Health Alert Regarding Genital Ambiguity (Spanish)
http://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/ElFinanciero/Portal/cfpages/c...
Original L'Osservatore Romano article: L’«Humanae vitae» Una profezia scientifica (Italian)
http://tuespetrus.wordpress.com/2009/01/03/l%C2%ABhumanae-vi...
Previous LifeSiteNews Coverage:
Study Confirms Estrogen in Water from the Pill Devastating to Fish Populations
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/feb/08021805.html
Hormonal Contraceptives Pollute Drinking Water - Environmentalists Turn a Blind Eye
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jul/07071105.html
By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman
VATICAN CITY, January 7, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An eminent doctor writing for the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano has stated that hormones from the contraceptive pill are causing a significant rise in male infertility in western nations.
Pedro Jose Maria Simon Castellvi, President of the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations (FIAMC), writes that "we have sufficient data to affirm that one of the reasons for the not insignificant rise in male infertility in the west (due to increasingly fewer sperm in men), is the environmental contamination caused by 'the pill'."
"We are confronted with a clear anti-ecological effect that demands further explanation from the manufacturers," continued Castellvi, who also noted that the abortifacient and carcinogenic effects of the contraceptive pill are also well known (see LifeSiteNews coverage at http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09010504.html).
Castellvi's statements echo similar utterances made by numerous other medical and scientific experts since 2004. Female hormones from birth control pills, which enter the water supply through urination, are being blamed for declining sperm counts in human and animal populations, the growth of female sex organs in male fish, breast growth in young men, and early onset of puberty in young girls.
In September of last year, a scientist at the University of Montreal's Department of Chemistry announced the discovery that Montreal's water treatment plant was dumping estrogen products into rivers at a level 90 times the critical amount, a level far beyond the minimum for disrupting the fertility of fish.
Last week, Mexico's Secretariat of Health issued a warning that use of the contraceptive pill during pregnancy could raise the risk of "genital ambiguity," also known as hermaphrodism, in newborns.
"The sad thing about this is that, if we are talking about the regulation of fertility, these products are not necessary," writes Castellvi, noting that Natural Family Planning methods, which involve abstaining from sexual intercourse during the fertile period of a woman's monthly cycle, "are just as effective and furthermore they respect the nature of the person."
Despite mounting evidence indicating the harmful effects of artificial hormones on the environment, the French Press Agency reported that Castellvi's statements were "promptly dismissed by several organizations," which claimed that female hormones are present "everywhere" and change once they are digested.
Castellvi's statements are supported by a report recently issued by FIAMC, which he says contains more than 300 source citations, the majority of which are from medical publications. His article appeared in the January 4th issue of L'Osservatore Romano.
Related Links:
Estrogen 'Flooding Our Rivers,' Montreal Study Finds
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080918170628.ht...
Male fish becoming female?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6436617/
Hormones in water blamed as more men seek breast reduction
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article549956.ece
Secretariat of Health Alert Regarding Genital Ambiguity (Spanish)
http://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/ElFinanciero/Portal/cfpages/c...
Original L'Osservatore Romano article: L’«Humanae vitae» Una profezia scientifica (Italian)
http://tuespetrus.wordpress.com/2009/01/03/l%C2%ABhumanae-vi...
Previous LifeSiteNews Coverage:
Study Confirms Estrogen in Water from the Pill Devastating to Fish Populations
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/feb/08021805.html
Hormonal Contraceptives Pollute Drinking Water - Environmentalists Turn a Blind Eye
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jul/07071105.html
Monday, November 17, 2008
Emergency Contraception Fails to Reduce Unintended Pregnancy and Abortion
Supporters of Plan B and other types of “emergency contraception” (EC) used to claim that easier access to EC could “result in a greater than 50% reduction in abortion rates.” J. Trussell et al., “Emergency Contraception: A Simple Proposal to Reduce Unintended Pregnancies,” Family Planning Perspectives 24 (Nov/Dec 1992): 6.
However, that estimate came from a hypothetical “modeling exercise.” Last year, Plan B supporters began to admit that the hard data tell a different story:
“[T]he experts had estimated that we would see a drop by up to half in the rates of unintended pregnancy and the rates of abortion. And in fact in the real world we're not seeing that.” Kirsten Moore, President and CEO of Reproductive Health Technologies Project, quoted in A.W. Schachter, “‘Plan B’: What Science Can't Tell Us,” New York Post Online Edition, Aug. 11, 2006.
Now even the author of the “greater than 50% reduction” claim, James Trussell, has conceded that 23 published studies from 10 countries disprove his claim. According to every one of the 23 studies, published between 1998 and 2006, easier access to EC fails to achieve any statistically significant reduction in rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion. E. Raymond et al., “Population Effect of Increased Access to Emergency Contraceptive Pills,” Obstetrics & Gynecology 109 (2007): 181-8.
Some of these studies reviewed country-wide statistics on unintended pregnancy and abortion after EC became inexpensive (or free) and widely available in health clinics or over-the-counter in pharmacies. Other studies compared results between women given packets of EC for future use, and a control group of women who had to acquire EC on their own. In the latter type of study, women given EC in advance were more likely to use it, but no statistically significant difference in unintended pregnancy or abortion was found between the two groups.
These studies from the U.S., Europe, and China are among those demonstrating the complete failure of EC to reduce rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion:
Sixteen months after 18,000 sexually active women in a health district in Scotland were each given 5 packets of EC, researchers concluded: “No effect on abortion rates was demonstrated with advance provision of EC. The results of this study suggest that wide-spread distribution of advanced supplies of EC through health services may not be an effective way to reduce the incidence of unintended pregnancy in the UK.” A. Glasier et al., “Advanced provision of emergency contraception does not reduce abortion rates," Contraception 69 (May 2004): 361-6 (www.cwfa.org/images/content/scotland0905.pdf; visited Feb. 14, 2007).
Over 2,000 women in the San Francisco Bay area were randomly assigned to one of three groups. The first group was given packets of EC; the second was told how to obtain EC free from pharmacies; the third had to return to the clinic for EC. Over 80% of the women were also using another form of contraception. After six months, 7-8% of women in each group were pregnant. “We did not observe a difference in pregnancy rates in women with either pharmacy access or advance provision [of EC]; the adjusted risk of pregnancy for both treatment groups was not significantly less than 1. Previous studies also failed to show significant differences in pregnancy or abortion rates among women with advance provisions of EC. It is possible that the effect of increased access on pregnancy rates is truly negligible because EC is not as effective as found in the single-use clinical trials, or because women at highest risk do not use EC frequently enough or at all.” T. Raine et al., “Direct Access to Emergency Contraception Through Pharmacies and Effect on Unintended Pregnancy and STIs,” Journal of the American Medical Association 293 (2005): 54-62 (www.dph.sf.ca.us/sfcityclinic/providers/Directaccesscontraception.pdf; visited Feb. 14, 2007).
Hu et al. conducted a randomized, controlled trial of 2,000 postpartum women in Shanghai, China (who would have a strong incentive not to become pregnant within a year of giving birth because this is forbidden by the government). Half were given 3 courses of mifepristone to use at home as emergency contraception (EC) “as needed.” The other half (control group) had to see a doctor to obtain mifepristone. Both groups could also purchase a Plan B-type emergency contraceptive at supermarkets. Women in the first group used EC twice as frequently as those in the control group, but there was no difference in pregnancy or abortion rates after one year. “This study adds to the growing literature casting doubt on the increased use of EC as a quick fix for rising abortion rates. That is not to say that EC will not prevent pregnancy for some women, sometimes, but rather that it may not make much difference to public health.” Xiaoyu Hu et al., “Advanced provision of emergency contraception to postnatal women in China makes no difference in abortion rates: a randomized controlled trial,” Contraception 72 (2005): 111-6.
Examining the impact of free, over-the-counter EC for teenagers in England, researchers reported: “We find little evidence that pharmacy [EC] schemes have led to lower under-18 pregnancy rates in England.” S. Girma and D. Paton, "Matching Estimates of the Impact of Over-the-Counter Emergency Birth Control on Teenage Pregnancy," University of Nottingham School of Business Occasional Paper Series, No. 2005-15 (October 2005) (www.nottingham.ac.uk/%7Elizecon/RePEc/pdf/matching.pdf; visited Feb. 14, 2007).
EC researcher Anna Glasier seconds that observation in a September 2006 editorial in the British Medical Journal: “[D]espite the clear increase in the use of emergency contraception, abortion rates have not fallen in the U.K. They have risen from 11 per 1000 women ... in 1984 ... to 17.8 per 1000 in 2004.” She adds: “Ten studies in different countries have shown that giving women a supply of emergency contraception to keep at home ... increases use by twofold to threefold ... but [has] had no measurable effect on rates of pregnancy or abortion.” She concludes: “If you are looking for an intervention that will reduce abortion rates, emergency contraception may not be the solution.” Anna Glasier, Editorial, “Emergency Contraception: Is it worth all the fuss?”, British Medical Journal 333 (2006): 560-1.
“Another commonly held view for which there is no documented evidence is that improving knowledge about and access to Emergency Contraception will reduce the number of teenage pregnancies. ... Experience of use so far does not give any evidence of effectiveness. Prescribing rates of the morning-after pill have multiplied steadily in Scotland while there has been no observed decline in the rate of teenage pregnancies or abortions.” A. Williams, "The Morning-After Pill," Scottish Council of Human Bioethics (Nov. 2005) (www.schb.org.uk, click on "Publications" then "Sexual Health").
“Despite the fact that emergency contraceptive pills (ECP) have become easily available across the country during recent years, abortion numbers continue to rise in Sweden, especially in the young age groups (<25).” T. Tyden et al., “No reduced number of abortions despite easily available emergency contraceptive pills,” Lakartidningen 99 (2002): 4730-2, 4735 (abstract at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12523048&dopt=Citation; visited Feb. 14, 2007).
Summarizing findings of the Washington State Pilot Project, which allowed pharmacies to dispense EC without a prescription from February 1998 to June 1999, researchers noted: “If the increased accessibility of emergency contraception reduces unintended pregnancy, there should be evidence of reduced pregnancy and abortion rates. To be sure, abortions in Washington reached the lowest level in two decades, dropping by 5% from 1997 to 1998. ... However, the national abortion rates also were declining during this period. ... In 1999, both pregnancy rates and rates of induced abortion increased slightly in Washington State.” J. Gardner et al., “Increasing Access to Emergency Contraception Through Community Pharmacies: Lessons from Washington State,” Family Planning Perspectives 33 (2001): 172-5 (www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3317201.pdf; visited Feb. 14, 2007). Note: The Guttmacher Institute reports a 5% decline nationally in the abortion rate between 1996 and 2000, compared to a drop of only 3% in Washington state.
Anna Glasier concedes in her above-cited study that “EC may be less effective than we belief [sic]. Estimates of efficacy are unsubstantiated by randomized trials. Efficacy is based on rather unreliable data and a great many assumptions and have been questioned both in the past and more recently. ... While advanced provision of EC probably prevents some pregnancies for some women some of the time, the strategy did not produce the public health breakthrough hoped for.” A. Glasier, Contraception, op. cit., at 365.
The new 2007 study by Raymond, Trussell and others, cited above, even casts doubt on the usual claims made for EC’s effectiveness for the individual user: “[W]e can be 95% confident that it reduces pregnancy risk by more than 23%. But just how much more remains poorly defined; the published efficacy figures … – on average, approximately 80% – may overstate actual efficacy, possibly quite substantially. Clearly, if the method is weakly efficacious, it is unlikely to produce a major reduction in unintended pregnancy no matter how often women use it.” E. Raymond et al., Obstetrics & Gynecology, op cit., at 187.
Email us at prolife@usccb.orgPro-Life Activities 3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington DC 20017-1194 (202) 541-3000 © USCCB. All rights reserved.
However, that estimate came from a hypothetical “modeling exercise.” Last year, Plan B supporters began to admit that the hard data tell a different story:
“[T]he experts had estimated that we would see a drop by up to half in the rates of unintended pregnancy and the rates of abortion. And in fact in the real world we're not seeing that.” Kirsten Moore, President and CEO of Reproductive Health Technologies Project, quoted in A.W. Schachter, “‘Plan B’: What Science Can't Tell Us,” New York Post Online Edition, Aug. 11, 2006.
Now even the author of the “greater than 50% reduction” claim, James Trussell, has conceded that 23 published studies from 10 countries disprove his claim. According to every one of the 23 studies, published between 1998 and 2006, easier access to EC fails to achieve any statistically significant reduction in rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion. E. Raymond et al., “Population Effect of Increased Access to Emergency Contraceptive Pills,” Obstetrics & Gynecology 109 (2007): 181-8.
Some of these studies reviewed country-wide statistics on unintended pregnancy and abortion after EC became inexpensive (or free) and widely available in health clinics or over-the-counter in pharmacies. Other studies compared results between women given packets of EC for future use, and a control group of women who had to acquire EC on their own. In the latter type of study, women given EC in advance were more likely to use it, but no statistically significant difference in unintended pregnancy or abortion was found between the two groups.
These studies from the U.S., Europe, and China are among those demonstrating the complete failure of EC to reduce rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion:
Sixteen months after 18,000 sexually active women in a health district in Scotland were each given 5 packets of EC, researchers concluded: “No effect on abortion rates was demonstrated with advance provision of EC. The results of this study suggest that wide-spread distribution of advanced supplies of EC through health services may not be an effective way to reduce the incidence of unintended pregnancy in the UK.” A. Glasier et al., “Advanced provision of emergency contraception does not reduce abortion rates," Contraception 69 (May 2004): 361-6 (www.cwfa.org/images/content/scotland0905.pdf; visited Feb. 14, 2007).
Over 2,000 women in the San Francisco Bay area were randomly assigned to one of three groups. The first group was given packets of EC; the second was told how to obtain EC free from pharmacies; the third had to return to the clinic for EC. Over 80% of the women were also using another form of contraception. After six months, 7-8% of women in each group were pregnant. “We did not observe a difference in pregnancy rates in women with either pharmacy access or advance provision [of EC]; the adjusted risk of pregnancy for both treatment groups was not significantly less than 1. Previous studies also failed to show significant differences in pregnancy or abortion rates among women with advance provisions of EC. It is possible that the effect of increased access on pregnancy rates is truly negligible because EC is not as effective as found in the single-use clinical trials, or because women at highest risk do not use EC frequently enough or at all.” T. Raine et al., “Direct Access to Emergency Contraception Through Pharmacies and Effect on Unintended Pregnancy and STIs,” Journal of the American Medical Association 293 (2005): 54-62 (www.dph.sf.ca.us/sfcityclinic/providers/Directaccesscontraception.pdf; visited Feb. 14, 2007).
Hu et al. conducted a randomized, controlled trial of 2,000 postpartum women in Shanghai, China (who would have a strong incentive not to become pregnant within a year of giving birth because this is forbidden by the government). Half were given 3 courses of mifepristone to use at home as emergency contraception (EC) “as needed.” The other half (control group) had to see a doctor to obtain mifepristone. Both groups could also purchase a Plan B-type emergency contraceptive at supermarkets. Women in the first group used EC twice as frequently as those in the control group, but there was no difference in pregnancy or abortion rates after one year. “This study adds to the growing literature casting doubt on the increased use of EC as a quick fix for rising abortion rates. That is not to say that EC will not prevent pregnancy for some women, sometimes, but rather that it may not make much difference to public health.” Xiaoyu Hu et al., “Advanced provision of emergency contraception to postnatal women in China makes no difference in abortion rates: a randomized controlled trial,” Contraception 72 (2005): 111-6.
Examining the impact of free, over-the-counter EC for teenagers in England, researchers reported: “We find little evidence that pharmacy [EC] schemes have led to lower under-18 pregnancy rates in England.” S. Girma and D. Paton, "Matching Estimates of the Impact of Over-the-Counter Emergency Birth Control on Teenage Pregnancy," University of Nottingham School of Business Occasional Paper Series, No. 2005-15 (October 2005) (www.nottingham.ac.uk/%7Elizecon/RePEc/pdf/matching.pdf; visited Feb. 14, 2007).
EC researcher Anna Glasier seconds that observation in a September 2006 editorial in the British Medical Journal: “[D]espite the clear increase in the use of emergency contraception, abortion rates have not fallen in the U.K. They have risen from 11 per 1000 women ... in 1984 ... to 17.8 per 1000 in 2004.” She adds: “Ten studies in different countries have shown that giving women a supply of emergency contraception to keep at home ... increases use by twofold to threefold ... but [has] had no measurable effect on rates of pregnancy or abortion.” She concludes: “If you are looking for an intervention that will reduce abortion rates, emergency contraception may not be the solution.” Anna Glasier, Editorial, “Emergency Contraception: Is it worth all the fuss?”, British Medical Journal 333 (2006): 560-1.
“Another commonly held view for which there is no documented evidence is that improving knowledge about and access to Emergency Contraception will reduce the number of teenage pregnancies. ... Experience of use so far does not give any evidence of effectiveness. Prescribing rates of the morning-after pill have multiplied steadily in Scotland while there has been no observed decline in the rate of teenage pregnancies or abortions.” A. Williams, "The Morning-After Pill," Scottish Council of Human Bioethics (Nov. 2005) (www.schb.org.uk, click on "Publications" then "Sexual Health").
“Despite the fact that emergency contraceptive pills (ECP) have become easily available across the country during recent years, abortion numbers continue to rise in Sweden, especially in the young age groups (<25).” T. Tyden et al., “No reduced number of abortions despite easily available emergency contraceptive pills,” Lakartidningen 99 (2002): 4730-2, 4735 (abstract at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12523048&dopt=Citation; visited Feb. 14, 2007).
Summarizing findings of the Washington State Pilot Project, which allowed pharmacies to dispense EC without a prescription from February 1998 to June 1999, researchers noted: “If the increased accessibility of emergency contraception reduces unintended pregnancy, there should be evidence of reduced pregnancy and abortion rates. To be sure, abortions in Washington reached the lowest level in two decades, dropping by 5% from 1997 to 1998. ... However, the national abortion rates also were declining during this period. ... In 1999, both pregnancy rates and rates of induced abortion increased slightly in Washington State.” J. Gardner et al., “Increasing Access to Emergency Contraception Through Community Pharmacies: Lessons from Washington State,” Family Planning Perspectives 33 (2001): 172-5 (www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3317201.pdf; visited Feb. 14, 2007). Note: The Guttmacher Institute reports a 5% decline nationally in the abortion rate between 1996 and 2000, compared to a drop of only 3% in Washington state.
Anna Glasier concedes in her above-cited study that “EC may be less effective than we belief [sic]. Estimates of efficacy are unsubstantiated by randomized trials. Efficacy is based on rather unreliable data and a great many assumptions and have been questioned both in the past and more recently. ... While advanced provision of EC probably prevents some pregnancies for some women some of the time, the strategy did not produce the public health breakthrough hoped for.” A. Glasier, Contraception, op. cit., at 365.
The new 2007 study by Raymond, Trussell and others, cited above, even casts doubt on the usual claims made for EC’s effectiveness for the individual user: “[W]e can be 95% confident that it reduces pregnancy risk by more than 23%. But just how much more remains poorly defined; the published efficacy figures … – on average, approximately 80% – may overstate actual efficacy, possibly quite substantially. Clearly, if the method is weakly efficacious, it is unlikely to produce a major reduction in unintended pregnancy no matter how often women use it.” E. Raymond et al., Obstetrics & Gynecology, op cit., at 187.
Email us at prolife@usccb.orgPro-Life Activities 3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington DC 20017-1194 (202) 541-3000 © USCCB. All rights reserved.
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