This week's Spirit & Life is a special article outlining Human Life
International's official position on the use of Plan B.
Spirit & Life is the weekly e-column of
Human Life International.
_______________________________
Dear Friends,
I wanted to express my
thanks for everyone's patience as we worked through some severe
technical difficulties with our web sites over the last couple of weeks.
Now that our site is
functioning properly, we can publish HLI's position on the
administration of "Plan B" for victims of rape. Following the recent
"Plan B" flareup, which saw even solid pro-lifers in strong
disagreement, we felt the need to approach this complicated issue in a
more thorough way, and provide a resource to our beloved bishops, their
advisors, and to our fellow pro-lifers who are concerned about the
confusion surrounding this life or death question.
I also wanted to extend my gratitude to those who contributed to the Plan B series on our Truth and Charity Forum, and to those who provided feedback. It has been a great challenge and a blessing
What follows is HLI's
official position on the use of Plan B in Catholic hospitals for victims
of rape, based on the sound moral teaching of the Catholic Church and
the latest scientific research. I hope that you will share this article
with others, and join me in praying for our shepherds as they seek to
ensure that women who suffer the terrible crime of rape be afforded the
best and most life-giving care possible at hospitals in their dioceses.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Father Shenan J. Boquet
President, Human Life International
HLI Position on Administration of "Plan B" Contraceptives to Victims of Rape
May victims of rape be administered a "Plan B" (levonorgestrel-only) contraceptive?
Catholic
bishops, ethicists, and researchers have given a variety of answers to
this question. Some forbid its use entirely, others permit it only
after certain tests are done, still others allow it every time a victim
of rape seeks care. This disparity in policy is primarily a result of
the status of the science that continues to explore how this drug
works. Recently a debate over the announcement by the German bishops
that Plan B was approved for use at Catholic hospitals seemed to end
with widespread confusion and a deepening of divisions between those
who disagree on the issue. We believe that such a resolution on so
important a question is completely unsatisfactory.
Given the
findings of the latest science that Plan B may very well have an
abortifacient or embryocidal effect, it is Human Life International's
position that all use of Plan B in Catholic hospitals should be
discontinued. We respectfully request that all bishops and those who
advise bishops on these matters reconsider as soon as possible the
approval of Plan B for use in Catholic hospitals.
The Church's moral teaching regarding this matter is summarized by the Bishops of the United States in the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services:
A
female who has been raped should be able to defend herself against a
potential conception from the sexual assault...It is not permissible,
however, to initiate or to recommend treatments that have as their
purpose or direct effect the removal, destruction, or interference with
the implantation of a fertilized ovum. (36)
With this moral principle in place, the question then becomes, Does Plan B cause early abortions? We set out to explore this through a series of articles published on our Truth and Charity Forum (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6).
By publishing some of the strongest authors on the subject, all of
whom approach the relevant science through the lens of orthodox
Catholic moral theology, we wanted to provide a resource for bishops,
and for those who advise bishops on the question of Plan B. Having
researched the question and completed the series, HLI makes the
following conclusions:
1. Recent large and
robust studies indicate that Levonorgestrel-only contraceptives such as
Plan B rarely block ovulation, and most likely do result in the death
of the embryo if administered during the first 4-5 days of the fertile
window.*
2. A Luteinizing Hormone (LH) protocol -
a test whose outcome has been understood to determine whether a drug
can be administered based on where the victim is in her cycle - cannot
in fact detect that a woman is in these first days of her fertile
window. Therefore a negative LH test may well encourage administration
of Plan B precisely when it is most likely to cause an early direct
abortion.**
3. Because recent scientific
studies have provided very strong data that indicates Plan B rarely has
any contraceptive effects and is likely to have embryocidal effects, a
medical practitioner cannot attain moral certainty that administration
will not lead to early abortion.
4. Since one
cannot attain moral certainty that abortion will be avoided, protocols
and policies that currently permit Catholic health care providers to
administer Plan B need to be reconsidered by the appropriate diocesan
authorities and hospital administrators. Nations in which abortion is
illegal should be aware of this potential abortion-inducing effect and
should prohibit the administration of these drugs.
These
are our conclusions pending any developments in scientific research.
Further, it appears that no contraceptive exists that is known to meet
the reasonable criteria expressed by the Church above.
The
urgency of addressing this matter comes to light when one considers the
Church's teaching regarding abortion expressed most recently in Dignitas personae:
It
must be noted, however, that anyone who seeks to prevent the
implantation of an embryo which may possibly have been conceived, and
who therefore either requests or prescribes such a pharmaceutical,
generally intends abortion. ... Therefore the use of means of
interception...fall within the sin of abortion and are gravely immoral. (23)
Here
we have considered the use of a contraceptive following the unjust act
of rape. We must, however, also reaffirm the Church's unchanged and
unchangeable doctrine on both abortion and the contraception of the
marital act - both remain morally illicit without exception. As Pope
Paul VI wrote in Humanae vitae, "it is necessary that each and every marriage act remain ordered per se to the procreation of human life." (11)
We
hope that Catholic bishops and those who advise them in these issues
will see the urgency of revisiting the approval of Plan B for treatment
of women who have been raped. These women deserve the absolute best
life-affirming care possible, and this care should not include drugs
that only compound the violence already suffered by causing abortions.
Further,
we ask those concerned both for women who suffer rape and for nascent
human life to approach bishops on these questions with respect, and
pray for our shepherds that these and all answers to questions about
human life and dignity may express, in the words of Dignitas personae, "a great 'yes' to human life."
__________________
*
There is a distinction in the scientific community between an
abortifacient effect, which disrupts a pregnancy after implantation, and
an embryocidal effect, which is "interceptive" or prevents
implantation. Plan B appears to have the latter, embryocidal, effect.
Since a human life is destroyed in either case, the distinction is not
moral but technical, so we have stayed with the common language term and
note here the difference.
** Previous scientific statements on
Plan B's mechanism of action declared Plan B to work mainly by
preventing ovulation. Recent scientific evidence suggests, however, that
Plan B does not work by preventing ovulation. Moreover, recent
scientific evidence also shows that Plan B has no effect on cervical
mucus or sperm function. Finally, as suggested in Point 1, recent
evidence suggests that due to shortening of the luteal phase and other
indicators, Plan B may likely prevent the new embryo from implanting
into the uterine wall, resulting in an embryocidal effect. | | |
