Advocates for Plan B, or the “morning after pill,” have consistently argued that increased availability of Plan B would decrease the number of unplanned pregnancies and thereby result in a drastic reduction in abortion rates. Abortion rights advocates have claimed that Plan B –- not incremental protective laws like informed consent statutes, parental involvement requirements, and basic health and safety regulations for abortion clinics –- would significantly reduce abortions. This argument was relied on to make Plan B available over-the-counter and without a prescription, both in America and abroad.
The promises of abortion advocates have proven to be empty, and their conclusions have been shown to be utterly false and misleading. The latest statistics demonstrate that greater accessibility to Plan B has lead to an increase in abortions. In addition, the most recent scientific study on Plan B shows that its effectiveness rate is actually much lower than the rates utilized by abortion advocates in their campaigns to increase availability to Plan B.
Sweden
Plan B became available over the counter in Sweden seven years ago. However, the abortion rate did not decline in Sweden; rather, statistics show that from 2000 to 2007, the abortion rate in Sweden increased by 17 percent.
In Sweden’s capital city, Stockholm, sales for Plan B have tripled since 2000. Despite this dramatic increase in sales, the abortion rate in Stockholm has risen significantly. In just a single year, from 2006-2007, the abortion rate in Stockholm rose by 6.9 percent.
Similarly, nationwide sales of Plan B in Sweden have doubled since 2000. Yet, the abortion rate has since skyrocketed by 17%, going from 30,980 abortions in 2000 to 37,205 abortions in 2007.
Scotland
In the face of Plan B supporters’ thriving campaign to promote over-the-counter access to Plan B in Scotland, abortion rates in Scotland have been steadily increasing. This May, the British National Health Service (NHS) announced that the 2007 abortion rate in Scotland has reached its historical height since abortion was first legalized in Great Britain in 1967.
NHS reports show 12, 603 Scottish abortions in 2005. In 2006, the Scottish abortion rate increased by about 3.8%, with a total of 13,081. It hasn’t gotten any better. The NHS reported that in 2007, the Scottish abortion rate rose once again, this time by 4%, with a total of 13,703 Scottish abortions.
Increase in Repeat Abortions
Recent statistics demonstrate that Plan B has resulted in a sharp rise in the number of women having repeat abortions. Persuaded by Plan B campaign jargon that the morning after pill is effective, will result in fewer unplanned pregnancies, and will make abortions rare, women have increased their use of Plan B, only to find themselves pregnant and in need of an abortion once again. The NHS released new data showing 26.3% of Scottish women who had abortions in 2007 had at least one prior abortion.
It is clear that Plan B advocates’ claims that the pill would decrease abortions has misled women and resulted in more unplanned pregnancies and abortions, including repeat abortions.
New Data on Plan B’s Effectiveness Rate
Abortion advocates consistently advertise Barr Laboratories’ finding that Plan B has an 89% effectiveness rate. However, a more recent, more detailed study reveals that Plan B actually has only a 72% effectiveness rate.
Associate professor of family and preventive medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine, Dr. Joseph Stanford, reported that he and his research team “did more a precise meta-analysis that shows it’s effective only 72 percent of the time, and even that number is optimistic” (emphasis added) This is not surprising, as Dr. Stanford noted, studies from Europe, the United States and China show that Plan B does not in fact reduce abortions as its advocates claim.
The Need for Incremental Protections
Clear evidence has proven that over-the-counter access to Plan B increases unplanned pregnancies and abortions. Abortion advocates claims have been shown to be false and misleading. It is apparent, now more than ever, that enactment of incremental protective laws – such as informed consent statutes, parental involvement laws, and basic health and safety regulations for abortion clinics – is the only real way to decrease abortion rates. Such laws have been proven, time and time again, to reduce abortion rates nationally and abroad. Making abortion rare is in our grasp, and Plan B is not the way to get there.
For more information on recent Plan B statistics and data, see http://lifenews.com/int891.html.
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To expect the MAP to reduce abortions is like expecting a pot of coffee to reduce drunk driving.
Forget fighting abortifacient devices/Plan B. Do you want the civil law to proscribe all birth control?! Look at Colombia’s failed experiment.
Take out the big guns first like conventional abortins and parental notification/prosecution of pediphiles.