Gregory Laplante’s Mar. 7 letter (“Women should skip Plan B”) about emergency contraception was not an informed opinion opposing emergency contraception such as Plan B, but rather a piece with a fundamentalist Christian agenda pushing its view on society. For one thing, it claimed Plan B could be an abortifacient, arguing the fundamentally misguided fact that life begins at conception. This is not a “fact of human embryology” as was stated, but a belief.

While there is much debate over this, the most widely accepted definition of clinical pregnancy is from the point of implantation on the uterine wall until delivery. Though Plan B is taken after sexual intercourse, its actions mimic those of conventional prescription birth control pills. In rare cases where a pill prevents a fertilized egg from lodging in the womb, it is mimicking another popular contraception method, the intrauterine device, or IUD.

Emergency contraception prevents ovulation or fertilization by altering tubal transport of sperm and/or ova. Even those who believe life begins at conception cannot argue this is abortion, because fertilization never took place. An established pregnancy will not be altered by taking emergency contraception. Plan B and all the other E.C. pills are not the same thing as RU-486, the abortion pill. If anything, E.C. reduces the need for abortion.

Laplante’s argument of the health issues that can arise from the use of birth control pills falls short on some facts. No effective drug can be taken over a long period of time without the concern of risks. There is no question that ingesting extra hormones (estrogen and progesterone in this case) can certainly raise the risk for breast cancer, but there have been conflicting studies leaving the evidence somewhat inconclusive. This is partly because cancer takes a long time to develop; by the time a breast lump can be felt, the cancer could have been there for years. There is even a synthetic progesterone being studied for the specific use of preventing breast cancer.

Furthermore, it has been found birth control pills help prevent two major types of cancer: ovarian and endometrial. Though once commonly associated with birth control pills, strokes, blood clots and heart attacks are risks that have been reduced over time with the low hormonal dose pills on the market today. Current research suggests healthy, non-smoking women have little, if any, greater risk of these serious illnesses than women who do not use the pill.

According to the FDA, more studies have been done on the birth control pill to look for serious side effects than any other medicine in history. So even though there are still possible risks, there are warnings that smoking substantially increases these risks, and the FDA still deems the pills to be safe and effective for the majority of its users.

Finally, I wonder if the author of the letter is aware not everyone follows “God’s plan” because not everyone believes in God. Though it would seem otherwise lately, the United States technically still upholds the separation of church and state. It is perfectly fine to have a negative opinion on emergency contraception, but condemning all those who are not “sticking to God’s plan” is no basis for an argument. It isn’t too much to ask that one get all the facts on an issue and leave personal religious assertions out of a decision.

Caitlin Chamberlain is a junior philosophy major. She can be reached at delirium07@aol.com.