J.M.J.

The Facts of Life: An Authoritative Guide to Life and Family Issues by Brian Clowes, Ph..D.

Published by Human Life International, 4 Family Life, Front Royal, Virginia, U.S.A., 22630, Phone (540 ) 635-7884; Fax (540) 636-7363; E-mail: hli@hli.org – World Wide Web: http://www.hli.org

Excerpt from Chapter 3 Abortifacients

Implications for Pro-Life Activists

Millions of women in the United States and all over the world use oral contraceptives. Many women who would never even consider a surgical abortion now use low-dose birth prevention pills that cause them to abort a new life an average of once or twice every year. A large number of women who say that they are pro-life use these pills, many at the urging of their husbands. These are usually the women who are ignorant of the pill’s abortifacient mode of action, those who think that their way of life requires that they use the pill, or those who cannot mentally make the connection between contraception and abortion.

Some researchers (using very conservative figures) have calculated that the birth prevention pill directly causes between 1.53 and 4.15 million chemical abortions per year in the United States - up to two and a half times the total number of surgical abortions committed every year!

This means that “pro-life” women who are using an oral contraceptive, or some other means of abortifacient birth control, are committing abortions themselves on a frequent basis. These abortions are “silent” and unseen, but they are no less abortions in the eyes of God than are gruesome third-trimester D&X abortions. There are many “pro-lifers” who are using these pills and who are involved in their promotion and distribution. These people must consider whether they can, in good conscience, criticize women whose action differs from their own only in that they have to drive to a “clinic” (mill) to commit it (pp. 74-75).

The following is a list of the contents of Chapters 2 and 3

Chapter 2: Contraception

24. What Is the Definition of “Contraception?” 35

25. What Is the Difference Between the “Method Effectiveness Rate” and the “User Effectiveness Rate?” 36

26. What Are the Effectiveness Rates of the Various Types of Birth Control 36

27. What Are the Costs of the Various Methods of Birth Control 39

28. How Effective Are Condoms at Preventing AIDS and Venereal Diseases 39

29. What Are the Other Types of Barrier Contraception 44

30. What Are the Different Types of Female Surgical Sterilization? 45

31. What Are the Different Types of Male Surgical Sterilization 47

32. What Is Chemical Sterilization 48

33. What Is the Historical Teaching of the Christian Church on Contraception 49

34. What Is the Teaching of the Catholic Church on Sexual Sterilization 53

35. Does the Principle of the “Double Effect” Apply to Certain Cases of Sexual Sterilization 55

36. Is There Such a Thing as a “Male Contraceptive?” 55

37. What Are the Similarities and Connections Between Contraception and Abortion 56

Chapter 3: Abortifacients

38. How Has the Definition of “Conception” Evolved, and Why Is this Important 65

39. What Is the Definition of “Abortifacient?” 68

40. What Are the Different Types of Abortifacients 68

41. What Are the Different Types of Birth Prevention Pill (Oral Contraceptive), and How Do They Work 70

42. What Are the Different Types of Intrauterine Devices (IUDs), and How Do They Work 75

43. What Is Norplant and How Does It Work 78

44. What Is RU-486 and How Does It Work 81

45. What Is Depo-Provera and How Does It Work 84

46. What Is the Teaching of the Catholic Church on Abortifacients? 86