ALBANY, NY #0151; The New York Senate has passed legislation that would enable women of any age to procure the abortifacient ‘morning-after’ pill without a prescription, joining seven other states which have instituted similar measures. The bill passed 34-27 and is now due to go before Republican governor George Pataki, who has the option of vetoing it.
The morning-after pill, or Plan B, delivers a massive hormonal dose, combining estrogen and progestin, and is marketed as a means to prevent pregnancy within 72 hours of engaging in unprotected sex. Until this point it was necessary to procure a doctor’s prescription to purchase the pill.
“Today, science has triumphed over politics,” said Kelli Conlin, executive director of the National Abortion Rights Action League Pro-Choice New York. “The state Legislature granted the women of New York greater access to birth control and gave them a second chance to prevent unintended pregnancy.”
However, some question whether Conlin herself has her science mixed up. “We have experts and all indications are that this pill might cause abortion,” said Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr.
Indeed, it is a proven fact that the morning-after pill, besides helping to prevent fertilization, has a secondary function which prevents an already fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus — that is, it causes abortion.
The confusion, explains the Physicians for Life website, is caused by the fact that some of those in favor of the morning-after-pill have arbitrarily re-defined pregnancy as occurring when the fertilized egg implants in the womb, 7-10 days after fertilization has occurred. Many family planning specialists who have supported the terminology change can thus rationalize that the destruction of the human embryo between fertilization and implantation should be labeled “contraception,” rather than “early abortion.”
Kathleen Gallagher of the New York State Catholic Conference lamented the fact that the law has no age-restrictions attached to the new legislation. “We think it is going to undermine families,'' she said. “As a parent, it's really scary that 14-year-old kids can get these high doses of hormones virtually over the counter.”
Sen. Hugh Farley came out strongly against the legislation, saying “It’s absolutely ludicrous there is no age limit … I think it promotes unprotected sex … it’s one of the worst pieces of legislation, regardless of how you feel about abortion.”
(This update courtesy of LifeSiteNews.com.)
