Valerie Borg, Valletta
The magical morning-after pill
At long last a magic pill! At long last some intelligent body has invented a pill that would undoubtedly put a stop to women becoming pregnant and having unwanted babies! At long last those who have been raped and those having children rather late in life can set their minds at rest that an unwanted pregnancy is a nightmare of the past.
It is absolutely stupid to even contemplate that the morning-after-pill equals abortion because, just as a form of contraception is used to have safe sex, the morning-after pill is an even more reliable method of having safer sex even if it is applied "the morning after".
I, who am against abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty and divorce take my hat off to whoever invented this pill.
What I cannot understand is how politicians on both sides of the House cannot come to a "consensus" over this subject. Surely having this pill on the market will only serve to have fewer single mothers, fewer children born through infidelity on a woman's part, fewer children born through the raping of a woman etc.
Surely this is something a set of mature men and women heating the seats in Parliament should agree upon!
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James Cauchi
Nov 1st 2009, 05:54
Every topic under the Sun is (or should be) subject to the contemplation of individuals.
Individuals of qualification are the best equipped to come up with the best arguments but there is little basis for the exclusion of the 'non-qualified' from contemplation or discursive participation.
A licence applies to practice and I augur that the men and women of profession will be the ones to provide the most compelling arguments - presuming of course that such 'informed' individuals feel free to do so (and no I do not really presume so).
Silvan Azzopardi MD
Oct 31st 2009, 18:54
The abortive mechanisim of the Morning after pill through alteration of the endometrial lining and preventing implantation of a fertilized embryo is evidenced in medical scientific literature and the pharmacological activity of this drug is not subject to a consensus by politicians or 'contemplation' by misinformed people.
Tony Gatt
Oct 31st 2009, 15:48
There was a time in the UK when STD meant 'Subscriber Trunk dialing'; now, with unprotected sex (because of the pill), it is something entirely different!
James Cauchi
Oct 31st 2009, 13:37
It is far from the truth that those individuals who are pro-morning-pill are necessarily pro-abortion.
Its an old article on a dormant site but I would encourage indignant pro-lifers to digest the following pathforger.com web log posting (don't worry - no gore images included - I'm not into emotional blackmail) and take a moment to reflect upon what they are truly asking of these women who fear themselves to be unexpectedly pregnant.
http://pathforger.com/web_log/index.php/2008/01/03/my-standpoint-on-abortion-part-1/
Let us once and for all recognize that the ethical pro-mother/ pro-conception debate should be very simple in regards to the morning after pill. The mother should come first every time.
J Martinelli
Oct 31st 2009, 13:15
Dear Valerie Borg,
You missed a very important point.
While the 'morning after' pill aborts a life-in-the-making, a desirable feature in your mind, you did not mention that having unprotected intercourse could present another undesirable problem besides getting pregnant and that is STD.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases, including HIV AIDS, Herpes, etc. are all the result of unprotected sex with an infected partner.
That is why the Church teaches abstinence since it is the safest way of unwillingly becoming pregnant or receive a lethal disease which is even worse than becoming pregnant in the first place.
Supporting the 'morning after' pill is equivalent to supporting abortion (that is what it actually is), therefore your statement that you are against any form of terminating life is contradictory at best.
d reiling
Oct 31st 2009, 12:25
@zammit - it is not true that accepting this pill is the same as supporting abortion....
@borg - why is it that the maltese men always seem to suggest that when a woman falls pregnant its always the womans fault / infidelity ????i am puzzled - it takes two to tango and both parties are responsible for contraception.
anton r borg
Oct 31st 2009, 12:25
Mr Calleja, I agree with you, but there has been some inaccurate comment on this medicine in the "Times" recently, so i thought it was a good opportunity for me to add my twopence-worth.
Gerry Cowie
Oct 31st 2009, 11:45
I rather think that Valerie Borg genuinely believes what she is saying. She has simply fallen into that trap of believing that the morning-after pill is the answer to every possible unwanted pregnancy and clearly does not understand its true effects. Hopefully the contribution from the doctor below will clear things up for her and all those who continue to deny that this pill is abortifacient.
S. Calleja
Oct 31st 2009, 11:30
@ Dr Anton R borg, I believe Mrs Borg is being sarcastic.
Peter Bonnici
Oct 31st 2009, 11:27
@ Valerie Borg. Perhaps politicians cannot agree on a policy because there still exists an enormous amount of ignorance on the matter.
Dr Anton R borg
Oct 31st 2009, 10:24
Unfortunately, Ms Borg, your information is not entirely correct on two grounds: 1) The so-called morning-after pill, which is better named "emergency contraception", only works as a contraceptive if taken during the first half of the woman's cycle (the follicluar phase, before ovulation takes place). If taken after ovulation, it acts by preventing implantation of an embryo, thereby acting as an abortifacient. 2) it is only reasonably effective if taken within 24 hours of sexual intercourse, so much so that the Family Planning Association in UK now advises doctors to offer to fit a coil into women who present following an episode of unprotected intercourse, even if it happens less than 24 hours prior to the woman presenting herself for treatment. A long way away from being a panacea.
Joe Zammit
Oct 31st 2009, 10:22
Those who are against abortion are against the morning-after pill; those who favour the morning-after pill, willy-nilly are in favour of abortion.