Illinois Federation

For Right to Life

Daily News

Monday, June 09, 2008

Pro-Lifers Campaign Against Pill-Induced Abortions

 

On the eve of the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that said prohibiting women access to birth control violated "marital privacy," the American Life League (ALL) is launching a new campaign to educate women about how birth control pills and other products can cause chemically induced abortion by preventing a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus lining.

 

Jim Sedlak, vice president of ALL, a Roman Catholic pro-life non-profit, announced the "Protest the Pill Day '08: The Pill Kills Babies" campaign at a press conference at the National Press Club on Friday.

 

"The (Griswold vs. Connecticut) decision ... set the stage for (legal) abortion in the United States because it found the right to privacy in sexual matters," Sedlak said.

 

Moreover, he said, it led to millions of women using birth control pills to "prevent pregnancy."

 

"We find that when we talk to women who are on the birth control pill that they have no idea that this can happen," Sedlak said. "Distributors of the pill, particularly Planned Parenthood -- and those are the customers we have the most contact with -- are simply told they won't get pregnant."

 

"They don't know about the fact that a human being can be created and five-to-seven days later die because the action of the pill will not allow it to implant in the womb," he said.

 

According to the National Women's Health Resource Center, birth control pills are a synthetic form of the hormones progesterone and estrogen. They prevent ovulation by maintaining more consistent hormone levels. Without a peak in estrogen, the ovary doesn't get the signal to release an egg. No egg means no possibility for fertilization and pregnancy. They also thicken cervical mucus so the sperm cannot reach the egg, and make the lining of the uterus unreceptive to the implantation of a fertilized egg.

 

Sedlak was joined at the conference by Dr. Marie Anderson, an OBGYN who does not prescribe contraceptives but promotes natural family planning at the Tepeyac Family Center in Fairfax, Va.

 

"Women deserve to be told the truth about the abortifacient (abortion-inducing) mechanism of the pill," Anderson said.

 

Jodi Wagner represented Pharmacists for Life International, a global organization that encourages pharmacists to find occupations that don't require dispensing birth control products, at the conference.

 

Peggy Hamill, state director of Pro-Life Wisconsin, said at the conference that chapters of her organization around the state will join in the campaign, which plans prayer vigils on Saturday at Planned Parenthood facilities and other businesses around the country that provide birth control pills and similar products.

 

Marie Hahnenberg, researcher for ALL and project manager for the "Protest the Pill Day," said the campaign is designed to educate women.

 

"The pill can kill pre-born babies, which is why American Life League decided this campaign would be the best way to reach as many women as possible," Hahnenberg said.

 

In Washington the event begins at 10 a.m. Saturday at Planned Parenthood, 1108 16th St. N.W. For more information, visit www.thepillkills.com.

 

Requests made to Planned Parenthood for comment on this story were not returned by press time.

 

Contact: Penny Starr

Source: CNSNews.com

Source URL:  http://www.cnsnews.com

The IFRL is the largest grassroots pro-life organization in Illinois. A non-profit organization, that serves as the state coordinating body for local pro-life chapters representing thousands of Illinois citizens working to restore respect for all human life in our society. The IFRL is composed of people of different political persuasions, various faiths and diverse economic, social and ethnic backgrounds. Since 1973 the Illinois Federation for Right to Life has been working to end abortion and restore legal protection to those members of the human family who are threatened by abortion, infanticide and euthanasia. Diverse though we are, we hold one common belief - that every human being has an inalienable right to life that is precious and must be protected. IFRL is dedicated to restoring the right to life to the unborn, and protection for the disabled and the elderly.   Click here to learn more about the IFRL.