Taking The Morning After Pill Is Not Abortion

Pregnancy is a possible biological outcome of sex, but sexuality can be enjoyed for its own sake.  Parenthood is not a universal goal when couples have sex, and there is nothing wrong with this, despite many people tending to pressure others to have children.  Since sexuality is controversial, it is no surprise that parenthood and contraception are similarly controversial.  It is also hardly surprising that controversial matters are often misunderstood.  One misunderstood form of contraception is the morning after pill, a type of emergency contraception that can prevent pregnancy.

It is not that children are merely burdens to be avoided; on the contrary, they are far more than that.  However, not every couple wishes to have children, and some people, in bouts of forgetfulness or spontaneity, might fail to use adequate contraception during sex.  The morning after pill is intended for use as an emergency contraceptive in such circumstances.  Some people equate the taking of the morning after pill with a form of self-imposed abortion, but the two are quite distinct.

Conceptually, the difference between the morning after pill and an abortion pill is that the former cannot actually induce an abortion.  While the morning after pill can prevent pregnancy if taken within a certain amount of time, it is incapable of killing a baby.  A pregnancy that has already started will not be terminated by taking the former.  Thus, there is no reason to expect the morning after pill to result in the death of a human being.

Abortion deserves firm condemnation, since it is the unjust extinguishing of a human life, but there is nothing immoral about doing what one can to avoid a pregnancy.  Some people may not like contraception.  Some people may wish that no one would ever use it.  Nevertheless, there is no obligation for any particular couple to have children--God's command in Genesis 1 for humans to populate the earth is not a command for every couple to have kids.

Because taking the morning after pill is not the same as aborting a child, there is no grounds for opposing it.  The idea that the two are synonymous is a false equivalence used by people out of ignorance or, perhaps, a dislike of contraception in general, which is correlated with conservative ideas about theology.  Contraception is not sinful (Deuteronomy 4:2) or murderous; it is helpful for couples who wish to enjoy sexual intimacy but, for various reasons, do not want to produce children.  The morning after pill is just a backup contraceptive for abnormal circumstances.