The Morning After the Morning After Pill...

Published on November 15, 2004 By iamheather In Current Events

It seems that the morning after "the morning after pill" (RU486)...you may be dead! The FDA released a new set of warnings for RU486 today, including side effects such as death and sepsis.

Guess this form of birth control isn't any safer than an old fashioned abortion.

Comments (Page 1)

Danny Bassette

on Nov 15, 2004

Maybe people should try abstinence, seems to me that it's the most proven form of birth control out there...

Texas Wahine

on Nov 15, 2004

I'm sad to hear this. I think the morning after pill was a great tool for lessening the need for abortions. Of course, the correct dosage of the birth control pill can accomplish the same thing.

InfoGeek

on Nov 15, 2004

To clear up confusion. The FDA just banned RU-486. It did not ban the Emergency Contraception pills like Preven.

Link

The two are very differrent and have different "windows of usage".

IG

Texas Wahine

on Nov 15, 2004

Thanks for the link, InfoGeek. I most definitely had the RU-486 confused with the "morning after" contraceptions (and evidently have had them confused for some time now

). Thanks for clearing that up.

LeapingLizard

on Nov 15, 2004

RU-486 isn't 'the morning after pill". The morning after pill does not dispose of a fertilized egg that has attatched itself to the wall of the uterus, where RU-486 will. Oh, InfoGeek already cleared that up...

I know a few people that have used RU-486, and it isn't a pretty sight, by any means. It's brutal and painful, used only as a last resort for some woman, but still less damaging than the other abortion procedure, I think. It's about a three week recovery period if everything goes as expected, but those first 48 hours are intense.

LeapingLizard

on Nov 15, 2004

Ok, a double post...
Danny,

Maybe people should try abstinence, seems to me that it's the most proven form of birth control out there...

If you were really being serious, it's not. It fails repeatidly because humans are sexual people. It is especially ineffective now because American people are waiting longer and longer to get married, but entering puberty at earlier and earlier ages. For some people, puberty starts at 10, and marriage comes in their thirties and beyond. That's a 20 year or more window. It isn't neccesarily heathy to repress sexual energy into adulthood. For the record, neither are abortions, but condoms and other birth control work well for these people. The average age of marriage in the US is mid-twenties now. Even the majority of humans have a good decade or so before they marry. Anyway the window where people have a sexual drive and aren't married is widening as a result of social and biological factors. Abstinence isn't effective for these people because it isn't realstic. Abstinence isn't effective for a married couple either, whereas other methods of birth control can be.

ll

iamheather

on Nov 15, 2004

To clear up confusion. The FDA just banned RU-486. It did not ban the Emergency Contraception pills like Preven.

RU486 is not banned. Please read the link before commenting. The link is directly to the FDA website. Just to clear up confusion.

iamheather

on Nov 15, 2004

(trade name Mifeprex, also known as RU-486). Mifeprex was approved in 2000 for the termination of early pregnancy, defined as 49 days or less.

Sounds like a morning after pill to me.

cactoblasta

on Nov 15, 2004

It's not. Morning after pills need to be taken usually within 48 hours or less of sex depending on the cocktail of drugs used. Unless of course your view of time is such that one of your days lasts 49 days realtime, they're really quite different in scope and purpose.

LeapingLizard

on Nov 15, 2004

Heather

Sounds like a morning after pill to me.

It doesn't matter what it sounds like. That doesn't mean anything.

The morning after pill coats the lining of the uterus with a not so sticky lining so that an egg cannot stick to it and begin dividing/growing. Taking the morning after pill does not terminate a pregnancy. If the egg has already stuck to the lining of the uterus, the morning after pill will have no affect.

RU-486 terminates pregnancy. An egg that has stuck to the lining of the uterus and began developing will be flushed out with all the blood that makes up the lining of the uterus when a woman is pregnant.

They are not the same thing.

No offense, Heather, this is in no way directed as a personal attack, but our public health education is not working. This thread is proof of that. Women especially, but everyone, should know these kinds of things.

ll

iamheather

on Nov 16, 2004

No offense, Heather, this is in no way directed as a personal attack, but our public health education is not working

Well the only unwanted pregnancy I had was when I was married and became pregnant while faithfully taking the pill.
The only time I never had to worry about getting pregnant is when I was abstinent. I was a virgin when I married at the age of 21.

No offense taken!

imajinit

on Nov 16, 2004

isn't homosexuality an alternative to abstinance? they don't have to worry about pregnancy do they?

iamheather

on Nov 16, 2004

isn't homosexuality an alternative to abstinance?

Don't think that is a choice or decision someone can make....

Angloesque

on Nov 16, 2004

Abstinence isn't effective for these people because it isn't realstic.

I'm not in total disagreement with this statement, but the "these people" is a bit ambiguous. Abstinence programs may actually be working for younger girls, if not the older ones. The Center for Disease Control just released a study, with a possible finding stating thus: "CDC researchers said the drop in births among girls aged 10 to 14 might be a sign that programs emphasizing abstinence and other forms of birth control were having an impact on this high-risk group." Note the word "might." Here's the link to the full story: Link

It isn't neccesarily heathy to repress sexual energy into adulthood.

Any evidence to back this up? If so, I'm gonna go have a talk with my mom, 'cause she lied to me.

I do disagree, however, with the idea that abstinence isn't realistic. There are plenty of people who achieve it. They may incur frustration, but they do wait.

Reply #12 By: imajinit - 11/16/2004 1:57:30 AM

isn't homosexuality an alternative to abstinance? they don't have to worry about pregnancy do they?

Finally, an excellent solution!

-A.

Dr Guy

on Nov 16, 2004

(trade name Mifeprex, also known as RU-486). Mifeprex was approved in 2000 for the termination of early pregnancy, defined as 49 days or less.

Sounds like a morning after pill to me.

The confusion stems from the fact that when it was being evaluated, it was known as the 'morning after pill' since it could be taken after the fact (vs before with regular birth control). Sometime in the last 3 years, that title was taken by another pill that is more like the traditional birth control pills.

However, it has not been banned (as iamheather pointed out) yet.

Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:

Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums.
Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
It's simple, and FREE!