Former Embryo On Board. Or why I quit The Pill.

Posted on May 3, 2009 by elizabeth

I've always considered myself pro-life, even after I started taking birth control pills at age 20. As a pro-lifer, I believed that a unique human being was created
at the moment of conception. I believed that a fertilized egg was human life.

When I was 19 I started having extremely difficult periods. A doctor recommended I begin birth control pills to regulate and lesson my symptoms.

"These don't cause an abortion, right?" I asked the health-provider at my university medical clinic.

"No," she laughed, "of course not. The Pill just prevents ovulation."

That same line was repeated by every OB/GYN I've asked since that time. What I didn't know was that I could still ovulate. It's called "breakthrough ovulation." And if I could ovulate, that egg could be fertilized.

In other words, I could become pregnant without ever knowing it.

Here's how: two years ago I found out that the Pill doesn't JUST prevent ovulation. The Pill also works by thinning the lining of the uterus so that a fertilized egg is unable to implant in its mother's womb.

Essentially, the child is starved of nutrition, dies and is flushed out of his/her mother during her next period.

I'll never forget the day I found this out. I literally shook from head to foot. I was so ANGRY that none of my OB/GYNs had told me the whole truth about how the pill works.

But most of all, I was horrified to think that by taking the Pill for so many years I had probably unwittingly aborted some of my children.

My pro-life beliefs had collided head-on with my anti-life practices. I felt like such a hypocrite. It made me sick with regret.

More than that, I was faced with a scary decision. Up until that moment, I had taken The Pill without remorse and without second thought. Now that I knew the truth, could I still take The Pill?

I realized I could not. Quitting the Pill was the only intellectually honest and morally consistent thing to do.

When I told Matt about what I had discovered, he was curious but not entirely convinced. However, as a true gentleman, he would never ask me to act against my conscience.

So, I threw away my pack of Pills.

The next month I was pregnant.

In my case, the blessing was double.

I was pregnant with TWINS!

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  • http://www.tinksmom.com eliz

    What a powerful story. Your realization about the truth of the pill was truly blessed. Let that be a lesson to all of us to act as our conscience dictates.

  • http://www.glass-and-stones.blogspot.com sarah

    I discovered the same thing about a year before my husband and I got married. I was shocked. my husband (then fiance) and I spent a lot of time researching and praying about it…we were convicted that as pro-life Christians we should not go on the pill when we got married. we use FAM (fertility awareness method) instead of the pill. it’s been a wonderful blessing. it’s a fantastic method that’s non-chemical, and completely natural. you work with your body instead of against it. and unlike, the rhythm method, FAM is about 90-98% effective.

    It’s frustrating…I hardly know how to talk to people about the whole birth control pill thing. on the one hand I don’t want to come off as condemning…on the other hand…I know I have a responsibility now that I know. Sadly, a lot of pro-lifers want to be pro-life without it actually affecting their life-style. Christians don’t have a problem voting pro-life…but what about when it affects them personally? and specifically when it affects their sex life and how many children they ultimately end up having? Unfortunately we live in a world were we think we can have sex without having children. I am thankful for the challenge I was faced with when I discovered these things about the birth control pill. It changed my heart in a number of ways concerning children. I’ve come to see that we live in a culture where having children (specifically more than two or three) is often an opportunity for people (at the very least) to be make snide remarks.

    I greatly respect and admire your obedience in the face of a life-style altering decision. not everyone is so willing. while reading part of the book “does the birth control pill cause abortions?” I remember the author (a pastor) saying that he has come up against the most opposition from pro-lifers than anybody else. Christians don’t want to accept it and find all sorts of reasons to rationalize staying on the pill. And it’s because they have something to lose. Secular doctors are completely unbiased and admit that the birth control pill comes with the risk of keeping a healthy fertilized egg from attaching…which would result in an abortion.

    while on the pill…a woman could have one, three, or a dozen abortions in her lifetime without knowing it. at this point it’s impossible to know for sure. as Christians who believe that life begins at conception, I don’t think it should be worth the risk for any of us.

  • http://www.heidijowhatdoyouknow.blogspot.com Heidi Jo

    oh you love to open up cans of worms don’t you:0) glad you have the guts—and knowledge to do so intelligently!

    NFP. period.

  • http://www.minthegap.com MInTheGap

    I had a long conversation on this topic with my brother and his wife. The “Christian” university they attend encourages new couples to wait 5 years for kids and to use the depo shot.

    I tried to show them where, in the medical data, there were chances for conception and what would happen to the child if that happened, but they did not want to believe it because of what they’d been taught at school.

    It took someone else, or something else, to convince them that I was right about the medical data, and now they’re off of it.

    Suffice it to say, OBGYNs lie all the time to women– they encourage them to go on something that messes with their body, they encourage potentially killing the woman’s children, and all the time they talk about how it’s completely safe.

    Let alone the fact that they badger you about “how many kids are you going to have!?” and “we gotta do something about that…”

  • Rachel

    I have to admit being a bit skeptical too. I have gotten pregnant while on the pill twice, so maybe I just have an awesome uterus! Or maybe I just stink at birth control. LOL!! Even though those pregnancies were unplanned, the children have been such a blessing in my life.

  • http://www.elizabethesther.com Elizabeth Esther

    Why do OB/GYNs omit the full truth? Is it because they are getting kickbacks from the Pharmaceutical companies for promoting specific brands of birth control? After I had Jude, my OB/GYN kept repeating the word MIRENA over and over–it turned out to be an IUD. I declined.

    I have to agree with Rachel, the “unplanned” pregnancies have been such a huge blessing.

    MIN brings up a great point: much of the counsel I received regarding the birth control pill came from other Christians! The underlying idea is that children are a burden, best delayed until other personal and professional “goals” have been met.

    I’m glad my parents didn’t wait until they were “financially secure” before they gave birth to me! :) Thanks, mom!

  • http://bellwhistlemoon.blogspot.com/ mary bailey

    Like you, I found out the real truth about the Pill after I had been on it off and on for years. Offed it for good about three years ago, then found out this stuff and I cried. I am heartbroken to think that I may have ended the lives of many of my own children in this way.

  • http://christiankidspublicschools.blogspot.com Tiffany

    I too was so surprised when I found out the truth about the pill. You would think they would have to tell you the risk you are taking. If people would like in depth information about this Randy Alcorn has a great article. (and so much other wonderful, Biblical teaching on his website)

    http://www.epm.org/artman2/publish/prolife_birth_control_pill/A_Short_Condensation_of_Does_The_Birth_Control_Pill_Cause_Abortions.shtml

    If the link doesn’t work you can go right to his site- it is http://www.epm.org and search.

    Thanks so much for putting this information out Elizabeth. I love reading your blog- but don’t ever comment- except for a little over when I won the Starbucks card you gave away on your birthday- (not this year, 2008) – but I thought Randy’s information would be helpful.

  • http://ohbecareful.com Jamie

    I made the same horrifying discovery when my son was 8 months old (thanks to Randy Alcorn’s articles that Tiffany just linked). I was shocked and angry; I felt betrayed by the OB that I liked and trusted, and who delivered my first born not so long ago.

    The pill may not act as an abortifacient often, but *infrequently* and *never* are worlds apart, especially when human life is in question. In a sort of tearful wrath, I flushed my remaining pills down the kitchen sink and ran the disposal. That was my last experience with birth control.

    My current OB (a Christian) is open about the ways in which the pill is designed to work. I wish all doctors would stop withholding this information from their patients; but, since doctors can and do leave out critical information, I have learned to do research on my own now–even when I have reason to believe I can trust my doctor.

  • http://www.elizabethesther.com Elizabeth Esther

    Jamie & Tiffany: Randy Alcorn is a hero of mine, thank you for the link.

    I really do think there is a systemic coverup of the truth regarding The Pill and other birth control methods. You simply cannot rely on your doctor to give you the full truth.

    Yet another reason why I’m thankful for the Internet: research is available to the lay reader.

    Anyone have a theory on how the gov’t profits from Pharms peddling birth control pills?

  • http://christiankidspublicschools.blogspot.com Tiffany

    Regarding who profits from the pharmaceutical companies selling birth control pills- I’m sure if not the government, planned parenthood certainly does. If they can’t make money from one form of abortion, they will make it from another.

  • http://www.generationcedar.com Kelly

    Elizabeth,

    I remember your epiphany…and remembering makes me smile all over again.

    You are a blessed mommy…and your children are equally blessed ;-)

  • http://www.sixblessings.blogspot.com Carmen

    MIN…I think I know what school you are referring to. We had a pastor who had a daughter get married and were told that for 5 years they couldn’t have children since they worked at the school. Scary!!

    Elizabeth, like Kelly, I remember the epiphany, too! It gave me goosebumps because I had been praying for you (I had been part of the conversation (I think? maybe I was just reading it?) at her blog, don’t know if you remember or not). You are a very blessed mommy!!

  • dizzykates

    I recently went off the Pill after reading similar research. I am relieved that I don’t have to worry about it anymore, but also can’t help but wonder if I miscarried at some points. How do you feel about condoms? We are struggling with deciding if we feel “ready”, but I think God has a plan and will work through whatever barrier we might be “dumb” enough to use. Thoughts?

  • Danielle

    Elizabeth,
    Thank you for your musings if that’s what you call them. I am the mother of four (two are four year old twin boys:). I too have felt prejudiced at times for having a small broad of blessings. Even sometimes by my own friends. I also had nightmares from “Thief in the Night”; why would you show a four year old something like that? I also enjoyed your bit about housework. I have a lot of it and need to correct my attitude towards it. It is such an encouragement to see a Christian mother pursue her dreams and use her gifts to glorify God. Thank you. I am truly grateful.

  • http://lovejoyfeminism.blogspot.com Libby Anne

    Technically, pregnancy doesn’t begin until implantation…so if you flush out a fertilized egg before it implants you’re not even miscarrying. Also, I fail to see how a microscopic ball of completely undifferentiated cells is a “child.”