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To read part 1, click here.

Tuesday morning, I made my way back to the Armenian Center to the Umuado Igbo Nigeria and in Diaspora’s event entitled “Managing the Challenges of Women and Girl Empowerment in Nigeria.” I found Francis who introduced me to the other women on her team. She handed me the program for the event and I saw that I was scheduled to be the FIRST panelist to speak! So much for my plan.

So many of the contraceptive programs offered to Africa come with forced ideological colonization. As the only white woman on the panel, I was keenly aware of my desire to empower them by offering information and walking alongside them to live the fullness of their culture without imposing mine.

The rest of the panelists spoke eloquently and emphasized the need for action rather than just talking about solving problems. As they spoke about the issues women face in their culture, I was even more humbled by realizing my own privilege.

During the question/answer time, a woman who was seated in the back stood up and introduced herself as Malcolm X’s youngest daughter. I am certain that the surprise on my face was evident as my mind raced to realize, “THAT Malcolm X?!” My slight awe quickly vanished as it became clear that she intended to try and take over the event by monopolizing the mic. She did, however, touch on the idea that action was needed, so when the moderator was able to take back the floor, she refocused onto this theme of the event.

Francis then directed a question toward me. “Women in Nigeria don’t use Billings because they don’t know how it works. What do we DO? How do we get started?” I explained that getting started is not difficult, but that all they would need is one trained teacher to teach a group of women to become instructors so that they can teach others, and it can ripple throughout the country. I also mentioned that Benin already has a WOOMB affiliate and that they may be an excellent resource for getting trainings started.

The members of the Umuado Igbo Nigeria and in Diaspora and event panelists

After the event, Francis expressed to me that she knew a Catholic woman who she was sure would be on board with this, and she is going to keep in touch with me to help them along the way. I also told her about the WOOMB International Conference to be held in Benin next year, and that it would be an excellent opportunity for those that they teach to become more connected and inspired.

These women were joyful, dynamic and lovely inside and out. As we chatted more, the moderator came over and I learned that she has seven children. I grabbed her hand and said, “Me too!” Francis laughed heartily and said, “So the one you are carrying will make 8? You should have two more and then you will have 10!” What a contrast to the shock and disdain of many in our culture at so many children. How beautiful to see their love and encouragement of large families!

Tuesday evening, three women from our team attended an NGO reception. It was an amazing opportunity for networking, and more informal discussions. The women in attendance were having a marvelous time, and were chatting up a storm. We talked to so many people, and were amazed at the openness of everyone to what WOOMB offers.

WOOMB teammates at the NGO reception

I also had an opportunity to speak with Susan O’Malley (Chair of the Executive Committee of CSW) that night. When I handed her out postcard she recognized it instantly, and remembered that we had asked for two parallel events, but she thought they had only approved one. I cheerfully announced that we had been given both events and how thankful we were for that opportunity. She shifted her weight to one leg, looked at me with skeptical eyes and said, “So, does it really work?” I smiled and confidently replied, “Yes, it actually does work!” I went on to explain a brief history of the Drs. Billings, Odeblad and Brown and Billings efficacy statistics. She shared that she had gotten pregnant on the IUD, Pill and trying the Rhythm method with the Pill. I quickly interjected, “Oh, now, we aren’t the rhythm method, the science is totally different.” I gave a very quick rundown of the ovarian hormones effects on the cervix and sensation, changing vs unchanging patterns. She thought for a moment, looked at the card again and said, “I need to go look at your website again, that’s interesting.”

I was thrilled at the length and honesty of our conversation.

Wednesday offered more opportunities for passing out postcards and networking. I spoke with a women from “Pleasant Gathering,” and was able to attend their parallel event. They are a faith based group from Nigeria who rescue women out of sex work and give them a marketable trade to make a living. They also were interested in how Billings education could help the women in their program.

As with the other women from Nigeria, these women were open and loving, grabbing me by the hand and leading me around to introduce me to everyone in their group.

Joy Ogbonnaya (head of Pleasant Gathering) and I

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Allison, Shana and I in Times Square (plus random photo bomber), Allison’s Llama from the artisan fair, and me with Colbert

Wednesday afternoon provided a good opportunity to relax a little bit. We were able to find some treasures at the CSW Artisan Fair where women from all over the world brought their handmade items to sell. We also got to enjoy a little bit of New York by attending a taping of the Stephen Colbert Show, and walking through times square. It was a nice change of pace before gearing up for our last event in Thursday.

I spent Thursday morning passing out more postcards, and inviting people to our event. When it came time for us to begin, I was disheartened at the number of people in the room. I had talked to so many people that had expressed what seemed like a genuine interest in coming. But, my spirit lifted as time went on, and the room filled with familiar faces. I was excited to see Destiny Herndon De-La-Rosa (Founder of New Wave Feminists) come in. I had connected with her a few weeks before CSW and invited her to come. Allison did a fantastic job directing the event, and each panelist spoke well of their personal empowerment. Monica presented the slide rule excellently as well. The audience was engaged and again followed up with thoughtful questions. Even after the event had finished, we all stayed around talking for quite some time.

Me speaking at WOOMBs Thursday parallel event

Destiny (Founder of New Wave Feminists) and I

The WOOMB team went to dinner all together that evening to debrief from the week and get started planning for next year.

I am so very thankful for the opportunity to represent WOOMB International at

the United Nations for CSW63. I believe that the team this year was strong, supportive of one another, and effective in spreading our message. I look forward to being able to represent WOOMB to the UN in the future.

Thank you to all of you who supported me and helped me take the Billings Ovulation Method to the United Nations!

I arrived at in New York on a redeye flight on Monday morning, March 11th. I promptly went in search of coffee, which while a cup was successfully found, it wasn’t Seattle coffee by any stretch of the imagination! Nevertheless, the caffeine and excitement started to kick in while I waited for the sun to rise. I ventured into NYC via the transit system and was able to find my way to the Armenian Center, were WOOMBs first event was to take place later that morning.

Before I came to New York I prepared and rehearsed my elevator speech to talk with people about how WOOMB International empowers women with natural fertility management. The team told me that in the past, when they would say they what they represented that people would just turn around and walk away from them. It was my goal to tell the truth in a language that would connect with my audience.

When asked what I do, I replied, “I represent WOOMB International which promotes a sustainable and eco-friendly method of birth control.”

When I entered the Armenian Center that morning, things were very quiet. I didn’t immediately see any teammates, but I started talking with a woman named Francis from Nigeria. After hearing her talk about her NGO and the need for health education for women in Nigeria, I pulled out my prepared line. I continued to say how WOOMB could help with the initiatives she spoke to me about. She was so excited about it that she invited me to come speak at their event the following morning! I was shocked, but happily accepted. My first interaction at the United Nations had landed me a speaking gig, which was quite the encouragement for this little introvert to continue to be bold and network throughout the week!

I was energized as the morning went on and I met up with the WOOMB team and the panelists that were coming to speak at our first event. The room filled with 20-30 young men and women who listened intently to our speakers skillfully explaining their area of expertise. Many good questions at the end of the presentation spoke to a good level of understanding and interest from the audience.

Photo of the WOOMB team and panelists from our Monday event

We found out after the event that many in attendance were with the group “Universal Fiat” accompanied by some Sisters from Nashville. It was delightful to see a few habits running around the UN spreading joy.

I attended a few other events that day, passing out postcards and using my one-liner to start up conversations about what WOOMB is. As I waited in line to get my UN grounds pass, I struck up a conversation with a young law student who was from Seattle. He was fascinated by the idea of natural birth control and very inquisitive. Conversation meandered from NFP to relationship and marriage advice as the line crawled through the building. Everyone around us was relatively quiet, so I am certain that many more people got an earful that morning!

In front of UN Headquarters

Once armed with my pass, I was able to go into the United Nations building. It felt very official to scan my pass and get to go places that tourists were not able to go. But it was also humbling because there were plenty of places that delegates could go that my badge couldn’t get me into.

I attended a couple of events that afternoon before heading back with my teammates to a house in the Bronx where we were staying for the week.

That night I stayed up late trying to prepare for my talk the following morning. I had little idea what the Nigerian event was actually going to focus on, so I decided to gather lots of statistics and points that could be used in a talk but were in no particular order. This was not the way I was used to preparing for a speech! But my plan was to listen to the other panelists and put together a talk on the fly from my gathered points that could speak to their topics of discussion.

When I felt that I had enough talking points gathered, I finally settled into bed. My jet-lagged body had little trouble surrendering to sleep. Little did I know of the phenomenal day that lay ahead.

Story continued in part 2

Over-the-counter hormonal birth control is now available in California and Oregon. Other states are hoping to follow their lead, and Presidential hopeful, Donald Trump has also declared his support for over-the-counter birth control. Considering that birth control has become synonymous with women’s health, this is not surprising. What seems to be missing from this discussion is the fact that oral contraceptive pills (OCP) are not vitamins or supplements; they are pharmaceuticals which come with long list of side effects and risks, as well as lifestyle and drug interactions.

When a woman obtains her prescriptions through her doctor’s office, the impetus is on the doctor to monitor her health and drug interaction concerns (whether they take this role seriously when it comes to birth control, is discussion for another day). But if OCP’s become available over-the-counter, only the pharmacist will be there to ensure her safety. The pharmacist, unlike the physician, has little idea who this woman is, what other medications she is on, or what lifestyle choices she may be making. Who then, will be left to will inform her or to monitor how these powerful pharmaceuticals (designed to disrupt a naturally, well-functioning endocrine system) are affecting her health.

We’ve previously examined the side effects and risks associated with OCP’s, and won’t address them here today. Rather, let’s look at lifestyle and drug interactions are even more ambiguous to the average pill user. Our unquestioning trust in OCP’s has blinded us to these concerns to the point that women believe these cross checks are irrelevant and unnecessary. On the contrary, information on these interactions is a serious concern for women’s health. If proponents get their way, and OCP’s become available over-the counter, there will be little to no regulation of what pill is taken by what women, and no regard for what her personal health needs are.

Lifestyle Interactions with Oral Contraceptives:

The most well-known lifestyle choice that significantly interacts with OCP’s is smoking tobacco. A wave of research in the late nineties researched the effect of smoking while taking OCPs and found that risk of blood clots, venous thromboembolism and stroke are significantly higher, specifically in women over the age of 35. The fight to make the public aware of the dangers of tobacco use has brought this dangerous interaction to light.

Smoking marijuana may also interact with oral contraceptives, although research is limited considering the very recent legalization of recreational marijuana in certain states. Nevertheless, health care providers are able to theorize that “Marijuana may have effects that counteract estrogen. Taking marijuana along with birth control pills might decrease the effectiveness of birth control pills.” Furthermore, marijuana has been found to have an adverse effect on the circulatory system by increasing heart rate and blood pressure. These symptoms are compounded when alcohol is used in conjunction with the drug. Combine this with the pill’s known association with a higher risk of blood clots and venous thrombosis, and the risks of this combination are easy to see.

Interactions of alcohol and caffeine use with hormonal contraceptives are limited, but worth noting. Alcohol consumption in women using OCPs has been seen to increase the central nervous system effects and blood levels of the alcohol. In other words, while taking OCP’s it may not take as many drinks for a woman to become tipsy. Oral Contraceptives are also seen to decrease the metabolism of caffeine, causing it to linger in your system longer. This may seem like a benefit to some, but according to the University of Illinois Health Center, the effects of the combination are significant enough to encourage women to know and look for the signs of caffeine overdose.

Drug Interactions:

In addition to lifestyle interactions, a popular formulation of the pill (ethinyl estradoil/levenorgestrel) has 533 drug interactions to keep track of as well. Check out this helpful list compiled by the University of Illinois that takes a closer look at a few of those interactions including corticosteroids, over-the-counter pain killers, anti-seizure medications, anti-depressants and more.

Risks associated with hormonal contraception have been ignored to the point that most women do not believe there are any risks at all. The move to make contraception available over-the-counter will only worsen this information gap. The political term “Women’s Health” again overshadows the much more important health of a woman.

Women deserve better!

You can still manage your fertility and plan your family. #Ditchtherisk of hormonal contraceptives. The Billings Ovulation Method is 99.5% effective, 100% risk free and side-effect free, and enables a woman to easily monitor her overall health. If you are one of the many women who deal with PCOS or Endometriosis, the Billings Ovulation Method will not leave you to suffer the effects! Every Billings chart is a hormonal assay that a trained physician can use to diagnose the underlying cause of your ovarian dysfunction (hint: it is NOT hormone imbalance. Your hormones are only a symptom of the deeper issue that needs to be uncovered for you to get back to true health.) Schedule your free informational session with us today by calling (918) 4010-NFP and learn how Billings can help you achieve Women’s Health that is true, honest, and empowering! #NeverSettle for less.

Articles that focus on the risks of contraception, only focus on one risk at a time, and always conclude that the benefits of contraception outweigh the risk. But the risks don’t come one at a time. Weigh carefully! ‪#‎Ditchtherisk‬

 Women deserve better; You deserve better.

The great news is, you do not have to fill your body with harmful steroids in order to postpone a pregnancy!

The Billings Ovulation Method^® is 100% risk free and 99.5% effective. Billings is a method of natural fertility management developed by Neurologist, Dr. John Billings, in 1953. With help from Pediatrician, Dr. Lyn Billings, Biophysicist, Dr. Erik Odeblad (the father of the MRI), and Endocrinologist, Dr. James Brown. The method is based on the observation of one simple symptom, day by day, making it simple for every woman to recognize her patterns of fertility. This includes you, even if you experience irregular cycles, even if you’re a postpartum mom, even if you’re approaching menopause. If you have been diagnosed with PCOS or Endometriosis you can still effectively use the method, and because of the extensive research, the method can even help you pinpoint the cause of your ovarian dysfunction.

Simple. Scientific. Effective. Health monitoring. Zero side effects, 100% risk free.

Why settle for less? Contact us today to schedule your free informational session.

Feel free to print this as a poster provided that the image is not altered and the copyright is left intact.

NFP Awareness week 2015 is just around the corner! Kick off your week right and tune in to Outside the Walls with Timothy Putnam as he talks with NFPAware COO, Kristin Putnam.

Get to know more about NFPAware by hearing about Kristin’s start into the world of NFP personally, her journey as an NFP instructor/supervisor/board member and hear about the beauty and uniqueness of the Billings Ovulation Method. It’s going to be a great show!

Stations, show times and podcast information can be found at www.OutsidetheWalls.com. Follow the show at facebook.com/stepoutsidethewalls or on Twitter at @outsidethewalls.

Be sure to let us know what you thought of the show by interacting with @outsidethewalls and @nfpaware. Don’t miss it!

The department of Health and Human Services (HHS) clarified the contraception coverage in the Affordable Care Act last week. Initially, HHS relied on “good faith” that insurance companies would cover contraception at no cost to the patient. This new clarification specifies that one medication from each of 18 specific categories of contraception must be covered at no cost. The 18 categories are predictable including combination hormonal contraceptives, progestin only pills, IUDs, and more. The final category, however, seems out of place and warrants a second look. This category contains only one drug — Ella.

Ella is a fairly new medication being marketed as an emergency contraceptive. They call it the “week after pill.” Why then is Ella in its own category, separated from other emergency contraceptives? And why of the 18 categories, is Ella the only one identified by the name of the medication, rather than a type?

The simple answer is that Ella’s mechanisms of action are different than other emergency contraceptives (ECs) like Plan B and One-Step. Other ECs contain synthetic progestins like levonorgestrel. Only differing with progestin only pills in dosage, these ECs behave in a similar way to regular hormonal contraception. By inundating the body with large amounts of extra hormones all at once ECs can delay ovulation, block sperm and thin the lining of the endometrium making it inhospitable to implantation. ¹

Ella, on the other hand, contains 30mg of ulipristal acetate, and is categorized as an Selective Progesterone Receptor Modulator (SPRM). The FDA has only approved two SPRMs to date: Mifepristone (RU-486) and Ella ²
(although SPRMs are being investigated for other uses regarding reproductive health).

The drugs are certainly not identical, but their placement in the same category should make us curious, and spur further examination. Mifepristone is an antagonist SPRM and it is used to terminate a pregnancy before 20 weeks gestation by blocking the body’s ability to appropriate ³ the progesterone needed to continue a pregnancy. ⁴ Ella is said to be incapable of this, but it is classified as both an agonist and antagonist SPRM. The main mechanism of action of Ella is (due to its agonist properties) to delay ovulation, and if ovulation were to occur, it attempts to create a luteinized unruptured follicle (LUF: i.e. keep the egg in it’s casing, which makes it impossible for fertilization to take place). Ella also decreases the thickness of the endometrium making it difficult for a fertilized egg to implant. ⁵ These traits make Ella very similar to other ECs. But Ella, like Mifepristone, is also an antagonist SPRM and is similarly able to bind to the progestin receptors, although its effects are not as potent.

In an article published in McGraw Hill’s Access Medicine, Dr. Stephen R. Hammes writes, “As may be expected, ulipristal has also provoked an adverse reaction in the United States by opponents of the termination of pregnancy.” Hammes goes on to explain the mechanisms of action for the drug saying, “Ulipristal is known to have anti-proliferative effects in the uterus at high doses; however, its most relevant actions to date are its ability to inhibit ovulation.” (While inhibiting ovulation may be the most relevant mechanism, it does not negate the drug’s other mechanisms). He concludes his article with this warning, “The drug should not be taken by women who are breastfeeding or who are pregnant and wish to remain so” (emphasis added).⁶

Ella’s ability to terminate an existing pregnancy is seen in animal trials of its only ingredient, Ulipristal Acetate. The European Medical Association says, “Ulipristal, mifepristone and lilopristone were approximately equipotent at the dose levels of 10 and 30 mg/day in terminating pregnancies in guinea-pigs when the animals were treated on days 43 and 44 of gestation.” In monkey trials half of the fetuses died when given Ulipristal Acetate in the first month of pregnancy.⁷

Admittedly, these animals were given a higher dosage of Ulipristal Acetate than Ella gives a human in one dose, but the drugs ability to bind progesterone receptors in an antagonist way, regardless of dosage, is significant. Anyone who has suffered miscarriage can tell you the importance of progesterone in the early stages of pregnancy.⁸ Low progesterone is cited as a major influence in the continuation of a pregnancy. ⁹ While progesterone is not completely blocked by Ella, it certainly is inhibited. Any inhibition of progesterone is likely to affect an “established pregnancy” and at higher doses, Ella is just as effective as Mifepristone.

Ella creates its own category in the HHS contraception coverage because its action as an “emergency contraceptive” is significantly different than other ECs. And now, it is available at no cost to the American public. Moreover, being the only drug in the category ensures government enforced subsidization of Ella’s manufacturer Afaxys.

This information should be no more infuriating than the fact that all 18 categories of pharmaceutical contraceptives act in a way that can cause a fertilized egg to be expelled from the body. More on this topic here and here.

Photo by: Ed Uthman

He who defines the terms, wins the debate. — Confucius

The HHS debate has fueled countless conversations about women’s health. One of the most prominent of these discussion surrounds the ‘mechanisms of action’¹ of the birth control pill, emergency contraception and IUDs. One side says the pill has the potential to be an abortifacient. The other side says this is impossible because the pill prevents pregnancy and does not destroy it. Each side claims science. Each side claims logic. And each side claims to be on the side of women.

Logically, both sides cannot be true. After all, if you have scientific proof in our postmodernist society, what else do you need? Yet both dig in their ideological heels and will not budge. All the science in the world cannot clear up the debate for one simple reason — each side is using the same language to mean different things.

Those who claim the abortifacient potential of hormonal contraceptives, do so because they believe that “life begins at conception,” (by which they mean ‘fertilization’). From their perspective, through fertilization a new life is created, but is prevented from implanting on the uterine wall due to an inhospitable endometrium caused by the pill. That life is therefore lost and an early-term chemical abortion has taken place.

Those who deny the claim that the pill is abortifacient, don’t even acknowledge the issue of life in their argument. Rather, they employ the turn of phrase “a clinically recognized pregnancy” to refer to the moment when a fertilized egg implants on the uterine wall. According to their logic, since the pill cannot terminate a ‘clinically recognized pregnancy,’ it cannot be an abortifacient.

See the problem?

The question of the abortifacient nature of the pill depends on whether you are referring to the termination of a ‘clinically recognized pregnancy’, or the termination of a life. The true disagreement is over the definition of conception and it’s relationship to the beginning of pregnancy.

A Simple Habit of Speech

The Guttmacher Institute states, “According to both the scientific community and long-standing federal policy, a woman is considered pregnant only when a fertilized egg has implanted in the wall of her uterus.”² This confidently definitive statement ignores the fact that of the four major medical dictionaries used in the United States since 1900 (Dorland’s, Stedman’s, Taber’s and Mosby’s), three of them currently define pregnancy as beginning with fertilization, and not implantation.³

Throughout the 20th century, definitions of both pregnancy and conception have evolved, but the major shifts can be traced to political influence rather than medical advancements in the field of gynecology. In 1963, Dr. Bent Boving published a book suggesting that pregnancy should begin at implantation rather than fertilization. He remarked, “the social advantage of [the pill] being considered to prevent conception rather than to destroy an established pregnancy could depend on something so simple as a prudent habit of speech.”⁴ Two short years later, in 1965, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) published it’s first Terminology Bulletin which proliferated Boving’s definition: “conception is the implantation of a fertilized ovum.”⁵

Medical dictionaries reflected this debate as well, but only temporarily. In all four of the dictionaries, the definitions of both pregnancy and conception were directly linked with fertilization. Dorland’s changed their definitions to refer to implantation in 1981, but changed it back in 2000. Stedman’s similar changes only lasted from 1972-1982. Taber’s Dictionary consistently defined conception and pregnancy in terms of fertilization until the 2 most recent editions published in 2001 and 2005. Mosby’s Dictionary has consistently defined conception and pregnancy in terms of fertilization and has not changed at all.

Long-Standing Federal Policy

Guttmacher also touted, “long-standing federal policy” as grounds for the understanding that implantation marks the beginning of pregnancy. Federal policy is political, not scientific. It reflects agendas of partisanship, not advances in science. Policy is rarely objective, and certainly is not ordered toward, or constrained by the scientific method. Rather it uses expedient theories as the foundation for whatever suits its ends best. The federal definition of pregnancy only exists because the winds of culture blew it into the limelight. Scientific fact had very little to do with it.

Curiously, scientific fact also appears to have had little to do with the definition changes in the medical community. There were no major medical advances in the field of gynecology that lead to Dr. Bent Boving’s suggestion to shift the definition of pregnancy in 1963. The same is true of the ACOG’s decision to publish the terminology bulletin in 1965. In a subsequent ACOG publication, Dr. Richard Sosnowski — head of the Southern Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists — voiced his concern over these unwarranted changes saying, “…with no scientific evidence to validate the change, the definition of conception as the successful spermatic penetration of an ovum was redefined as the implantation of a fertilized ovum. It appears to me that the only reason for this was the dilemma produced by the possibility that the intrauterine contraceptive device might function as an abortifacient.” ⁶

If medical discovery was not the impetus for the change, what was it that provided the motivation? A few years prior to Dr. Boving’s statement, the FDA first approved the birth control pill to be marketed as a contraceptive. By 1962, 1.2 million women were using the pill. In 1965, the supreme court case Griswold v. Connecticut, nullified state laws across the country by giving married couples the right to use hormonal birth control citing patient confidentiality.⁷ Following that ruling, it is estimated that the number of married women on the pill jumped to 6.5 million, with hundreds of thousands of unmarried women also able to obtain prescriptions.⁸ This is the cultural context in which the ACOG released its first terminology bulletin, effectively evading all medical dictionaries’ input, and perpetuating a “prudent habit of speech.” Today, the ACOG is regarded as an authority on gynecological health, independent and superior to all other sources. It is solely from the definitions set out by the ACOG, without regard to many other qualified sources, that Guttmacher claims ‘medical consensus.’

The Question of Life

In its journal, The Guttmacher Report on Public Policy, the author explains the evidence for the perceived medical consensus. Her introductory sentence reveals an attitude that further affects the phrase “Life begins at Conception.” She says, “The question of when life begins is an eternal one, debated by philosophers and theologians for centuries, and likely destined to forever elude consensus. However, on the separate but closely related question of when a woman is considered pregnant, the medical community has long been clear: Pregnancy is established when a fertilized egg has been implanted in the wall of a woman’s uterus.”

In one sentence, “Life” is removed from the realm of science and relegated to the ambiguous world of the philosophers; pregnancy alone has been deemed scientifically quantifiable. This removal relativizes key terms and makes possible other semantic shifts in the abortion debate. The result is that, while each side uses the same terms, these terms no longer have an objective definition, but mean whatever the speaker wants them to mean.

In reality, while the question of ‘existence’ has been the realm of the philosophers, ‘life’ is a biological reality. Dr. Maureen L. Condic discusses, in great detail, the development of the human organism using the kinds of criteria scientists employ to distinguish different cell types. In her paper, “When Does human Life Begin? A Scientific Perspective,” she says, “Based on a scientific description of fertilization, fusion of sperm and egg in the “moment of conception” generates a new human cell, the zygote, with composition and behavior distinct from that of either gamete. Moreover, this cell is not merely a unique human cell, but a cell with all the properties of a fully complete (albeit immature) human organism; it is “an individual constituted to carry on the activities of life by means of organs separate in function but mutually dependent: a living being.”⁹

The fusion of the sperm and the egg (fertilization) takes place approximately one week before a “clinically recognized pregnancy” is established. Scientific advancement has been able to observe the behavior of the zygote, down to the second. And using established definitions of biology it is clear that a human organism (i.e. life) is present before implantation takes place.

Yet, by shifting the definition of pregnancy a mere seven days, and relegating ‘life’ to an ethereal concept, some have attempted to render the phrase, “Life begins at Conception” as scientifically irrelevant and medically invalid.

So, is the pill an abortifacient? The answer is all about the definitions.

Rachel Held Evans (a self professed pro-life, woman of faith, Christian feminist) recently wrote a blog entitled “Privilege and the Pill.” She wished to express her opinion, “as a pro-life woman of faith who supports affordable access to birth control.” Denny Burke and Andrew Walker wrote a response here ¹ addressing the political concerns which prompted her blog. However, there were many additional points in Mrs. Evan’s piece that needed to be addressed. Continue reading

We have received many responses to our latest article asking about the accuracy of a 6-8 day fertile phase. The questions deserved a thorough response, so a follow up article was in order.
Continue reading

Is there anything of value in life that does not take work and self discipline? Lately, this sentiment has been echoed all over pinterest with pictures of an exercise regimen, captioned with an inspirational thought, like “Work Hard, See Results.” Continue reading