Commentary by Judie Brown
If you ever start to think that the world is suffering from a venom shortage, just start a blog and say something controversial. The level of rage that people can muster over the simplest of statements – in this case, the statement that the morning-after pill can kill a newly-created human being – is really something to behold. Venom is apparently in plentiful supply.
On a recent appearance on Alan Colmes' radio program, I took issue with big-time media outlets for stating that so-called emergency contraception "prevents pregnancy." I pointed out that in some cases this "prevention" is accomplished by ending the life of a new human person in the days between fertilization and implantation in the mother's womb.
First of all, the statement is easy to defend. Even the manufacturer states in product information documents that birth control pills of any variety can affect the endometrium – the uterine lining – making it all but impossible for the human embryo to implant. This failure to implant leads directly to death.
When I wrote about this on my blog, boy did I get blasted!
"This just makes me angry," wrote one person. "Congratulations on your ignorance." Thank you, I think. But if I'm ignorant, why are you angry? Shouldn't the response to ignorance be pity? Why anger?
That was just the first of many responses, and the folks who take issue with me were just warming up. I also said that the medical establishment relies on a phony definition of pregnancy to say that these pills do not abort; that a mother is not considered "pregnant" until her preborn child implants in her womb, which occurs about a week after fertilization (the point at which a human being's life begins).
"Exactly who died and made you God?" wrote one respondent. Other than the obvious theological fact that God is very much alive and Judie Brown makes no claim to His heavenly throne, the big deal here is that somebody did die – an innocent human being who was never given a chance by those in the medical community who deny his very existence. But I suppose denying the existence of a baby is child's play for all in our society who deny the existence of God.
Another livid reader wrote, "You people amaze me. You're wrong, and you know it. This spin is just another attempt to control women and cause more grief. Bah."
"Bah"? Obviously, Shakespeare has left the building.
However, this person and several others noted the "primary" mechanism of the morning-after pill is the prevention of ovulation. No ovulation, no baby, they said – and thus, no abortion. While that may indeed be the primary function of these drugs, this does not negate the impact of the tertiary function (alteration of the uterine lining, which can lead to the loss of the preborn child). Even if this function only happens once in a million uses, that's still a concern. One lost human being is one loss too many.
I can't help but thinking that 99.9 percent of all drivers stop at red lights. It's very much a big deal if one out of a thousand drivers refuses to stop, and an even more critical concern if that one driver causes a crash that claims a life. That's a problem. The potentially fatal consequences of the morning-after pill make it a problem of comparable gravity. No one wrote to my blog, however, to demand the right to run red lights.
A reader did write, however, to say, "Why don't you devote your energy to the hundreds of thousands of children that are already born that don't have access to decent health care, nutrition and education. Keep your beliefs away from my uterus. Thank you."
That mouthful contains a couple of points that need to be addressed. The charitable effort of both religious and secular relief organizations with regard to the plight of the poor is a well-documented matter of record. It is a formidable enterprise, so the suggestion that nothing is done for the children remains without merit.
The error truly in need of correction in this brief diatribe is the notion that what I said was a "belief." It is not a belief. It is a fact. It may be a fact this writer does not want to accept, but that does not negate it as fact. If the morning-after pill were not potentially fatal to a developing human person, why would the manufacturer put that information in the pill packages?
A writer working on a Ph.D. in biology noted, "Teenagers are biologically programmed for sex. At no time in their lives are their sex hormone levels higher. At no other time are they at greater risk of unplanned pregnancy. Obviously, reducing unwanted pregnancy can only occur through improved education of our children and greater availability of birth control." This person intends to donate to Planned Parenthood now, specifically to "programs that aim to reduce unplanned pregnancies."
I suppose one could say that all human beings are "programmed for sex," since that's how the Creator intended the species to procreate. It is highly ironic that this individual would choose to support Planned Parenthood, however, as this is the one organization that has done the most to plant the suggestion in our collective minds that kids are going to have sex regardless of what we do to encourage chastity.
Teens are not biologically programmed to have sex as much as they're indoctrinated to do so through Planned Parenthood programs with messages such as, "it's perfectly normal." It shouldn't take a graduate-level biologist to figure out that the most effective way of stopping out-of-wedlock pregnancy is stopping out-of-wedlock sex. Yet this scholar seems to have failed to grasp that simple concept.
Finally, a blog reader tells me, "You do the work of Satan. May God forgive your appalling stupidity." Of course when one gets a note like that, the easiest thing is to hit the "delete" key, but this blast of frustration does deserve comment.
First of all, I do indeed pray for God's forgiveness. Every day. It's what He said to do, and I do so with what I hope is an attitude of humility and sincerity.
Satan is an extremely effective adversary, of course. And what he does best is deceive. As noted at the very beginning of this commentary, there is no shortage of venom in the world. Interesting then, isn't it, that the devil has a history of appearing as a snake.
At any rate, there's never a dull moment in the blogosphere. I just hope the effort helps a few people find the truth.
