Publication Date
Spring 4-24-2012
School
College of Arts and Sciences
Major
Nursing (B.S.N.)
Primary Subject Area
Health Sciences, Pharmacology; Health Sciences, Nursing
Keywords
abortion, abortifacient, zygote, hormonal, birth control, pill, mini-pill
Disciplines
Bioethics and Medical Ethics | Medicine and Health Sciences
Abstract
Recently, there has been a growing controversy, especially among evangelicals, over whether the birth control pill might have an abortifacient mechanism that sometimes causes early chemical abortions. An understanding of this controversy necessitates a clear definition of abortion, abortifacient, pregnancy, implantation, and especially personhood. If a zygote (fertilized egg) is not a person, then it has no fundamental rights and there is essentially no debate concerning the possible link between birth control pills and abortion. There is strong indirect evidence of post-fertilization, or abortive, effects of hormonal birth control. If zygotes are people, and birth control pills do kill them, health professionals and the public, especially Christians, need to be informed about the situation.