Pro-Life Groups Publish Pamphlet Exposing Dangers of Abortifacient Birth Control

BELFAST, November 10, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The dangers of birth control to women and unborn children are the subject of a leaflet jointly published on Saturday by the European Life Network (ELN) of Dublin and the Northern Ireland division of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC).  The leaflet describes how a large number of birth control drugs and devices can kill young embryos by stopping them implanting in the womb. It also points out that birth control pills and other hormonal methods increase women’s risk of cancer, high blood pressure, heart attacks, blood clots and strokes.  ELN’s Pat Buckley said: “Rightly or wrongly, the pro-life movement has sometimes soft-pedalled on the issue of what certain types of birth control can do to women and children. In fact, these drugs and devices, which are sometimes misleadingly called contraception, can be fatal to the unborn. They also threaten women’s health.”  The common birth control pill, the IUD, the Depro Provera injection and the birth control patch are among the birth control methods that are fatal to embryonic children.  The leaflet adds that intrauterine devices increase the risk of ectopic pregnancy and pelvic inflammatory disease. The UK’s chief medical officer has warned that morning-after pills also make ectopic pregnancy more likely.  SPUC’s Mrs Betty Gibson said: “The dangers of abortifacient birth control do not recognise national borders. Although the island of Ireland has a more pro-life culture than many other modern nations, devices and drugs are widely available which actually have no place in a society which values humanity.”