Abortion debate cont.
Adam Marischuk

Re: "Responsible Birth Control," Letters, October 14.

Dear Ms. Soman,

Thank you for your reply. I am glad that we agree on the importance of truthfulness regarding the propagation of information in order to ensure that women are fully informed concerning their decisions regarding all types of birth control.

However, I noted that in your letter you simply restated the very same information that I attempted to discredit initially. By redefining pregnancy to suit a particular political agenda, you have actively been involved in the dissemination of false information. The scientific definition of pregnancy, according to the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), the National Institute for Health and the Department of Health and Human Services defines pregnancy such that it, "begins with conception, when a sperm from a fertile male joins with an ovum (egg) of a fertile female."

Given this definition, your claim that the pill, the patch and even emergency contraception, "will have no impact on a pregnancy already in progress" is clearly a fallacious statement. All three of these birth control methods clearly prevent fertilised embryos from implanting in the uterus (thus terminating a pregnancy). Correctly, the pill, the patch and emergency contraception should be defined as birth control or abortifacients, and not contraception. This is because in many cases, conception has already occurred and these three methods thus do not always prevent conception.

In keeping with the aforementioned desire for truthful dissemination of information, it is important to correctly define the terms used when discussing these issues, regardless of political, moral or religious opinion. For further information regarding the state of pregnancy, I invite the readers to visit the Australian Naturopathic Network at http://www.ann.com.au/MedSci/concepti.htm

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