The Morning After Pill

When discussing life issues like contraception and abortion, truth is very important. Friday's (12 Nov) Times carried a full-page article discussing so-called "emergency contraception" pills. Readers were told that these pills can be used "to prevent an unwanted pregnancy".

We must note first that human life begins at fertilization (also called conception), which is the moment when the sperm and the egg join. The Letters page of the Times lacks the space to contain all the quotes from medical experts testifying to this fact, so one example will have to do. Dr. Alfred M. Bongioanni from the University of Pennsylvania (USA) told the US Congress in 1981: "I have learned from my earliest medical education that human life begins at the time of conception...I submit that human life is present throughout this entire sequence from conception to adulthood and that any interruption at any point throughout this time constitutes a termination of human life". Medical research and understanding has grown exponentially since that time, and all the gathered information confirms that human life begins when the egg and the sperm join. After conception (which usually takes place in the tubes leading from a woman's ovaries to her uterus), the new person travels to the uterus and attaches to the wall of her mother's womb. Nine months later, if all goes well, the baby is born.

I visited a prominent chemist in Mbabane on Saturday, and they graciously gave me an information page which comes in the box with the morning after pills. The information page says that the active ingredient (Levonorgestrel) in this pill (Norlevo) "acts as a contraceptive by inhibiting ovulation and preventing the nidation of a fertilized ovum in the uterine mucosa".

The information sheet is half right. "Inhibiting ovulation" means to stop an egg from leaving a woman's ovary. This is a contraceptive action, because if no egg is present then the sperm has nothing to join with, and conception is impossible. "Preventing the nidation of a fertilized ovum", however, is not a contraceptive action; it is an act of abortion. A "fertilized ovum" is nothing less than a new human being, as Dr. Bongioanni explained above. "Preventing nidation" means to make it impossible for the newly-conceived human person from securing herself to the wall of the uterus. In this way, the morning-after pill causes abortion. Senior Nursing Officer Gibson Sibanda was quoted in the Times as saying "After 72 hours conception may have taken place, and once fertilization takes place the ECP (morning after pill) is useless". The paper that comes with the pills indicates that the pill can still have an effect after fertilization--at that time it may prevent implantation. Sexually active women should have accurate information as to what effect this pill might have on a child she may conceive. The Times, FLAS, and the pharmaceutical companies would do well to provide accurate information in a form that does not require a university biology degree to understand.

Rudy Poglitsh
rpoglitsh@live.com
more letters at http://letterstotheTOS.blogspot.com

One Child Policy?

According to the Swazi News on 6 November, MP Johannes Ndlangamandla has floated the idea that limiting by law the number of children people can have will help Swaziland develop. The News did mention that "globally" some countries, like China, limit the number of children a couple can have. Policymakers and policy influencers (like the News) would do well to tread carefully in this area.
First off, note that no one lives "globally"; we all live in some particular place. The question is, do we want some policy from another part of the globe to become policy in our own country?

China does indeed have a one-child policy, but it has led to a numerous and serious problems. Population Research Institute says that victims and witnesses report the following government activities in China related to its one-child policy: "age requirements for pregnancy; birth permits; mandatory use of IUDs (the loop); mandatory sterilization; huge fines for breaking one's child limit (in one instance, a couple was fined approximately 500,000 Emalangeni for having twins after they already had one child); jail sentences; destruction of homes and property; forced abortion and forced sterilization." Such dreadful actions would not improve Swaziland's position on the Mo Ibrahim log for democratic governance. Additionally, killing daughters via abortion is common, since sons are highly valued in China and couples want to make sure they get a boy. Being killed precisely because one is a girl is the epitome of gender-based violence, and Swaziland (rightly) hears continuous calls for an end to gbv.

China's experience shows that bringing the force of law to bear in order to reduce the number of births is a bad idea. Swaziland has development problems, but limiting the number of children by law is not the way to solve them.


Rudy Poglitsh
rpoglitsh@live.com
more letters at http://letterstotheTOS.blogspot.com

Choose the Option that Gives You the Most Options

The book "The Art of the Long View" says "Choose the option that gives you the most options". This rule applies to the abortion debate. A mother carrying an unplanned baby faces the question, "Should I abort the baby or not?" Which option gives her the most options? Carrying her baby to birth means she can rear the baby herself, ask her parents to help with rearing the child, join the Swaziland's newly-created support group for single mothers, or marry the dad and have a complete family. The "birth option" allows the mom to view and influence her growing child, to enjoy the fruits of seeing that daughter or son mature, and to receive the support of her child in her own old age. The birth option also opens up all the small and large life choices to that child. The "abortion option" offers a brief and bloody end to the baby, often accompanied by long and short term physical and emotional harm to the mother. It offers the mother a lifetime of "what if" questions she will not be able to answer. In short, the choice of life gives mother and child the most options. Let us help moms and the babies they carry enjoy the maximum range of choices in their lives: let us help moms choose life.


Rudy Poglitsh
rpoglitsh@live.com
more letters at http://letterstotheTOS.blogspot.com