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News and commentary from the Pro-Life Action League
You are currently browsing the archives for the Contraception category.
Although the FDA last week approved the drug “ella” (ulipristal acetate) for prescription use, the controversy over how it works — Is it a contraceptive, or an abortifacient, or both? — shows no signs of going away any time soon.
According to the New York Times, the members of the FDA’s advisory committee that voted to approve it were largely indifferent to this question; all they concluded, in their wisdom, is that it’s supposedly “safe and effective”.
Meanwhile, ella’s manufacturers are going to great lengths to claim that it functions only as a contraceptive and not as an abortifacient. Witness David Archer, whom Slate calls an “expert” for ella’s manufacturer, HRA Pharma of Paris: [Continue reading ...]
The Properly Attired condoms are no longer being sold by Urban Outfitters, as this screen clipping (with added red box) shows.
I love stories like this—these are what encourage me as an activist.
We may not have a friendly Court, we may not have a friendly Congress, and we may not have a friendly President, but our power lies with the people.
On August 11, 2010, American Life League’s Stop Planned Parenthood project (STOPP) called pro-lifers—parents, in particular—to stop a new product launched by Urban Outfitters. This “trendy” clothing store had decided to increase its profits by selling condoms. They called the product line “Properly Attired.”
“Face the Truth” Tour outside the Art Institute [Photo by Sam Scheidler]
The mid-point of the Pro-Life Action League’s 2010 “Face the Truth” Tour was marked by the single best day in downtown Chicago in the Tour’s 11 year history.
After such a big day, time allows for only a brief recap. For more in-depth information on the day, visit our Twitter feed.
The Tour visited Lake Shore Drive at Buckingham Fountain, the Art Institute of Chicago and the pedestrian throng at Adams St. and Wacker Blvd. outside Union Station. Highlights of this fantastic day under the beautiful Chicago sun include:
After two days in Downtown Chicago, the Tour moves on to the north suburbs of Chicago tomorrow.
Ella is already being used in Europe. Now its manufacturers are trying to bring it to America. And the FDA just might let them.
An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is recommending the approval of a new drug called ella, “an emergency contraceptive for use up to five days after sex.”
This is an “improvement” over Plan B, which is supposed to be used no more than three days after having sex.
The excitement over emergency contraception, of course, assumes that it actually prevents pregnancy in the first place—a premise that is still unproven.
According to Anna Glasier, former director of a health care organization in Scotland, a study in Britain actually found that abortion rates went up even as use of “emergency contraception” increased. The same article reports that ten studies found that having these pills readily available had no impact on pregnancy or abortion rates. [Continue reading ...]
Yesterday’s protest in of Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards’ appearance in Cedar Rapids, Iowa was a resounding success. A full report, including video clips, is coming next week, with such highlights as:
Meanwhile, you can check out a slideshow of photos from the event, and see all the great media coverage we got:
Images from the Cedar Rapids, Iowa protest. Click to see high res version in Flickr set
Recently the Pro-Life Action League received a call from Dr. Chris Kahlenborn of the Polycarp Research Institute, who asked us to publish a letter of his regarding the connection between oral contraceptives and breast cancer.
Dr. Kahlenborn’s letter follows:
Last week was the 50th anniversary of the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the birth control pill in the United States. Newspapers and magazines around the country ran stories on this, mostly extolling the social and medical benefits of the pill.
This theme was bolstered by a recent communiqué from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) which noted: “The pill remains one of the safest and most popular forms of contraception in the U.S.” (Office of Communications, ACOG, May 6, 2010)
I find it disturbing that after nearly 50 years, both the media and the medical establishment have failed to give a true airing to one of the pill’s most dangerous side effects; namely, that “dirty little secret.” What’s that?
One need only check the Mayo Clinic Proceedings—the major medical publication of the Mayo Clinic—to find our little-known study, which showed that the pill increases the risk of premenopausal breast cancer substantially when taken at a young age (see Mayo Clinic Proceedings: October, 2006: available here).
As we approach the 50th anniversary of the FDA’s approval of the birth control pill for contraceptive use, we’re seeing little in the way of celebration. On the contrary, the June 23 anniversary is inspiring a great deal of reflection on the negative impact of these chemical compounds, known collectively as “the pill.”
Think for a moment about the significance of that name: “the pill.” I can think of no other invention whose impact is so great as to dominate an entire category in this way. Despite all that the automobile has done to transform society, we do not call it “the machine.”
There can be no doubt that the pill has had a profound impact on society. But until now, there were few voices suggesting that impact might be negative, especially in the mainstream media. [Continue reading ...]
With the media coverage surrounding the birth control pill’s introduction 50 years ago this month, I’ve been re-listening to the CDs from the League’s Contraception Is Not the Answer conference.
One of the best talks given at the conference was a presentation entitled “Hormones ‘R’ Us”, in which Dr. Janet Smith discussed the negative impact of chemical contraceptives on women’s bodies, minds, and relationships.
Having just listened to Dr. Smith’s talk last week, I was interested to read a recent Salon column titled “Why I Hate the Pill” written by Glamour editor Geraldine Sealey.
Make no mistake, Sealey writes as someone who sees nothing wrong with non-marital sex and contraception — and yet her column confirms a great deal of what Smith, et al. have been saying for years about the problems posed by the pill (and other forms of hormonal birth control generally).
A Wall Street Journal article titled “The Birth-Control Riddle” appeared earlier this week in anticipation of the 50th anniversary next month of the introduction of the birth control pill in the U.S.
After referring to the inception of the Pill as “the dawn of dependable contraception”, the author, Melinda Beck, gives an overview of the various contraceptive options now on the market, and goes on to note that nearly half of all pregnancies are unintended — essentially the same as in 1994 — and that “smaller studies have found that even newer birth-control methods haven’t made much of a dent.”
48% of unintended pregnancies, Beck points out, involve contraceptive failure.
She also notes this:
And many young people are in “the fog zone” in which their beliefs about pregnancy don’t match their behaviors, according to a 2009 report by the National Campaign to End Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. In a survey conducted by the Guttmacher Institute of 1,800 single men and women aged 18 to 29, more than 80% of both sexes said it was important to them to avoid pregnancy right now, yet 43% of those who are sexually active said they used no contraception or used it inconsistently.
So much for the glories ushered in since “the dawn of dependable contraception”.
![Pro-lifers pray in front of Goyal's new location. [Photos by Dan Gura]](http://prolifeaction.org/pix/2010/keep-out-1.jpg "keep-out-1")
Pro-lifers pray in front of Goyal's new location. [Photos by Dan Gura]
Since 1996 abortionist Vinod Goyal—owner and operator of seven abortion clinics in Northern Illinois—has sought permission to move Dimensions Medical Center abortion clinic from Des Plaines into a medical office building in Arlington Heights. [Continue reading ...]