I Almost Had An Abortion (Or Several)
I’ve always been staunchly pro-life; in fact, I don’t think it is ever justifiable to take the life of an unborn child. Each little life is ordained by God, known by God, and is a soul that will live forever. I’ve been to abortion protest rallies and counseled with teens about “crisis” pregnancies, in an effort to encourage them in allowing their precious unborn baby the chance to live instead of brutally ending its life.
So when I discovered that I was in a position to have an abortion (or several) myself, the shock and pain was heart-rending.
Before my husband and I decided to have a child, I used birth control pills, and having researched how they work I felt comfortable with them. I used what is referred to as “combined” pills, which contain both estrogen and progesterone. These pills work primarily by suppressing ovulation, and by thickening the mucus at the opening of the cervix as a means of preventing sperm from entering. I felt that this was fine, since this was keeping the egg and sperm from uniting. However, after the birth of my son, I merely asked my midwife for birth control pills that would be safe to use while breastfeeding. I was prescribed what is commonly called the “mini-pill”; a birth control pill containing only progesterone. This pill is safe to use while breastfeeding, and unlike other types of the pill, does not limit the quantity or quality of your milk. Exhausted and in the mental fog that surrounds a woman in the first few weeks after giving birth, I started taking the mini-pill without researching how it worked.
Three months later, it suddenly occurred to me that I had no idea how this pill worked and what it was doing inside my body. The little informational pamphlet that came with the pills merely stated that it causes “changes” to the uterus and cervix, but did not say what those changes do. After extensive research on the internet and visiting many reputable medical sites, the truth painfully emerged…this mini-pill works by preventing a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus. Essentially, your body aborts a developing fetus because after the little embryo begins developing, it is not allowed to begin growing inside your uterus, and is forced to be expelled during your next period. For those of us who believe that life begins at conception, this is a huge issue!
My husband found me at the computer, frozen with grief and with tears in my eyes. What if I had already unwittingly caused my body to abort a little baby? It was unlikely since I had just given birth three months earlier, and my body had not experienced a return to its normal cycle, but the chance was still there. Upon seeing the information, my husband immediately agreed to discontinue the pills. After comforting me, we prayed together for forgiveness and thanked the Lord for revealing this to us before it had gone on too long. Even if it means having to use other less convenient contraceptive methods, it is worth it to be able to have a clear conscience. And if it also means that we’ll have more children, sooner than we’d planned, then we’ll rejoice and accept each child as a gift from God!
It is my sincere prayer that this truth will be shown to other women, so that we can all live our lives as pleasing unto the Lord, even when it comes to being mindful of how our birth control works.
If anyone is interested in reading what Dr. Dobson’s official medical statement and research, visit www.family.org and look up his “Position Statement” on “Birth Control Pills and Other Hormonal Contraception”.
December 2006
