What does everyone think of Bush's new plan to place barriers on contraceptives by labeling them as abortions

Oh my goodness. I dislike him more and more every day. Good thing he'll be out of office soon. :)

That's ridiculous. What does that say about women that don't believe in abortions but use birth control? We just had a baby in April and do NOT want another one so close so I'm using Mirena so I suppose that means I'm "aborting" every possible baby.

I found this while looking this up;

"Since birth control methods “interfere” with the fertilized egg implants in the uterus, the Bush administration considers this an abortion. And surely, if birth control vanishes, more unwanted pregnancies will take its place."

Has he seriously lost his marbles? I'm living in the UK but did live in the US for many years and was consistantly dissapointed with the drivel he spouted. Someone needs to quickly knock some sense into him before he does any more damage. Although many young women are educated about such things and know that they aren't an 'abortion' some girls may become frightened of being ridiculed because they had an abortion and just let the pregnancy carry on as normal, and seeing as the teenage birthrate in the US insn't all that brilliant at the minute i personally think that this would make it a lot worse.

Many will probably hesitate. Most obygyns are used to exausting themselves saving fetuses, not having to worry about killing them.

Here is some background on the issue some people have (from the bbc) '"The contraceptive pill doesn't always prevent ovulation. As often as 30% of the time, ovulation may occur and if that happens, fertilisation may occur," Dr Jones-Nosacek says.

"Then there are other mechanisms that can prevent that being from surviving. It's called a chemical abortion."'

Edit: many of you (Wanting To Conceive #1, Andrew P, bethie_biker) apparently don't have any background knowledge of what the article was about and the article itself didn't explain (it was a political propaganda piece, Hilary has no medical or biology background) . The issue is FERTILIZED eggs are being killed. If your condom is letting your eggs get fertilized.....you're pregnant. Andrew P, 30% of the time they AREN'T being kept appart. That is the whole problem.

People your fondness for birth-control or current life situations have nothing to do with whether Bush's position is scientifically correct or not. You are trying to make a scientific issue into an political one. Please think with your brain and keep your emotions in check.

Well, it's true. Most forms of birth control--even the pill--could be considered abortion. Some bcps prevent implantation of a fertilized egg. Therefore, once you've created life, the pill stops the natural process. IUDs also prevent implantation of a fertilized egg. Same thing there. While I don't feel this kind of abortion is the same as an actual abortion, it's important for consumers to know what they're putting into their bodies. I would just hope it would force young women to really think about what a huge deal having sex is, and that the little pink pill they take everyday isn't just a magic "I won't get pregnant" pill. Hopefully it makes them realize the gravity of the situation and to appreciate life for what it is. Then again, I'm a wishful thinker.

EDIT: After reading what everyone has to say here, I don't think a lot of people realize how most birth controls work. Some of you need to go home and read your packaging. Some birth controls prevent ovulation, some prevent implantation of a fertilized egg, and some thicken cervical mucous so that sperm can't get to the eggs. And still some use a combination of all 3.

It's an end-run around the constitution with the far right Republicans once again trying to legislate their values. What do I say about it? Come on up to Canada, the weather's great!

11/29 - By your definition then each individual sperm cell is new life, so every time I masturbate I'm committing millions of abortions. Every time a woman has her period, her body is committing an abortion. Your logic doesn't track. Ignoring the ethical dilemma about exactly when human life is human life, so long as a sperm cell and an egg are kept apart there is ZERO potential for human life and therefor no life to end.

Richard B - You're right, I DRTFA however since this is a politicization of not only a scientific issue but a moral and religious one, it may be discussed in political terms. Ideally this would be a debate for the medical community. My argument against 11/29 was, as I realized later something of a strawman, so allow me to reform it slightly. The AMA and the BMA define pregnancy as occuring with implantation. There is also no evidence that hormonal contraceptives act as a abortifacent as stated in a statement by pro-life ObGyns:

"The entire "abortifacient" presumption, therefore, depends on "hostile endometrium" actually being hostile to the blastocyst, resulting in the loss of blastocysts that would otherwise prosper and grow. Since there are no scientific studies demonstrating the validity of this presumption, abortifacient proponents appeal to the writings of scientists and clinicians involved in the production or study of these contraceptive products. Nearly all of these sources freely use the term "hostile endometrium" to describe the changes which occur in the uterine lining when these medications are used. And most make the presumption that these changes contribute to birth control effectiveness. On the surface, this would seem to be nearly incontrovertible evidence that the "pill" is, at least occasionally, an abortifacient.. However, we again emphasize that there are no scientific studies that we are aware of which substantiate this presumption." and "There are l,200,000 medical and surgical abortions of unborn babies that take place every year in the United States. The "hormonal contraception is abortifacient" theory is not established scientific fact. It is speculation, and the discussion presented here suggests it is error. How happy the abortionists must be to find us training our guns on a presumption, causing division/confusion among pro-life forces, and taking some of the heat off the abortion industry. Ought we not rather be spending our energies to eliminate the convenience destruction of the innocent unborn?" [1]

According to many websites i have looked at about birth control and abortions, pills, IUD etc. are not considered an "abortion" until after implantation. which it could take days or a week or 2 for that to happen. until then, its still an egg, nothing more. it is when AFTER implantation it is considered a fetus. I don't think they should be able to put that on the labels, its preventing pregnancy, not ending it.

It's nothing people didn't already know quite frankly... the effect it will have is informing those who didn't know what these pills do-and yes, even before implantation, it's still a new life, so personally, I think it's only right that they should give women the information so we can make wise CHOICES...

and personally, I feel this section isn't the right place for such a politically charged question...

Add: And why is it we are SOOO helpless to control our bodies nowadays??? We act like birth control is the pregnancy prevention Messiah when self control and waiting is the only choice. Rape/incest accounts for only 1% of ALL abortions performed, so please don't use that reason, it's an exception, NOT the rule to why people get abortions in this country...

Add: To answer your added info, I see what you're saying, but honestly, as with cigarettes having to label information regarding how they impact one's health, and also that of a woman's unborn baby, I believe it is the responsible thing to provide the info that yes, this CAN cause an early abortion... even planned parenthood's website will affirm that it can do this, so goodnight! Why can't we hold women to a higher standard and not just give them a pass when they behave poorly? Women deserve better than killing their babies, even teenie newly made ones. We deserve accurate information, not hidden facts that deceive us into skipping happily along blindly... I'm sick of the lies of the so called women's movement. I'm not empowered when I'm not informed. And real choice means choosing to control MY body based on facts-and the fact that my newly created baby could pass right on through me because I'm unaware that birth control can cause this would NOT be an informed choice.

i think everyone should have a right to have birth control. abortions are NOT birth control, but a pill preventing a pregnancy is not a pill terminating one. If you dont want children, then a responsible person would logically get on birth control. Lots of dr's give out birth control dispite thier personal beliefs, its thier JOB. My GP was VERY catholic, but he perscribed me the ortho evra patch. obviously, a catholic normally doesnt use birth control...but im jewish, so his faith has no impact on me. i got my patch. i dont think bush has any right to exert power over womens health. i bet his daughters were both on birth control.

Oh my god this is so stupid! Can you imagine all the unwanted pregnancies and "back alley abortions" that would take place if this passes. Good thing I know it won't happen. :) No women is stupid enough to agree.

That is so retarded seriously!!! How in the world?

Birth Control stops you from ovulating. It is not destroying a zygote/fetus/baby (whatever you want to call it).

I didn't vote for him and his stupidity in the first place! Al Gore was my way to go... Same with Kerry. But no one listened. LOL

I can't wait til he is out of office...

UHGGGG X(

I guess the next step will be labeling condoms as "abortion" since they can prevent pregnancy. Never mind that they can also prevent sexually transmitted diseases.

I can only assume that W. and Laura have never used any kind of birth control during their sexual history. It's either that or he's a hypocrite.

Thanks for posting this!