Snarkastic

There's Got to Be a Morning After

I'm prepping for a debate on abortion, and this morning I Googled mifepristone (used to go by RU-486 - the "abortion pill"), for no other reason than being unsure of the pronunciation. And I clicked on the definition link, but my eyes wandered to the lone "sponsored link" at the top of the page - a site called OptionLine.org, promising "Accurate Information 24/7 on All Abortion Procedures".

Something tells me they're lying.

No references to organized religion on the site itself. From the About Us page: "Option Line is a call center located in Columbus, Ohio, formed as a joint venture between Care Net and Heartbeat International." More Googling reveals both of these to be evangelical anti-choice "ministries", and Care Net's website takes the further appalling step of plastering a slogan that contains the words "empowering women" at the top of its front page. The About Us page also references the site's "Commitment to Care", and following THAT link leads to the following statement: "We do not offer, recommend or refer for abortions or abortifacients, but we are committed to offering accurate information about abortion procedures and risks."

The "Pregnant?" link, disgustingly, leads to a free pregnancy test offer, three brief, generic paragraphs about how to find out for sure...and then this sentence: " The following definitions and fetal development photos will help you understand more about your pregnancy." None of these pictures, thankfully, are of the horrorshow variety that so frequently get posted around campus (we get ten-by-ten shots of botched abortions on the sides of panel trucks several times a year, no joke), but look for yourself, and see if you don't think the effect is pretty...insidious.

That's when I found the lie. The link reading "Considering Abortion?" leads to a page detailing various procedures. First on the list?

The morning after pill.

Also known as "Emergency Contraception," this procedure consists of a pregnancy test and two doses of pills. The woman first must take a pregnancy test and receive a negative test result before taking the pills. If a negative test result occurs from the pregnancy test, then the woman is instructed to take the first dose of the Morning After Pill. Note: a negative result indicates that the woman is probably not pregnant from intercourse during her previous monthly cycle, but it will not show whether or not she just became pregnant (from intercourse the "night before"). She is instructed to take this first dose as soon as possible, but not more than 72 hours after intercourse. The woman takes a second dose 12 hours after the first dose. If conception already occurred within the 72 hour time frame (that is the "night before"), the life is expelled. This is an early abortion.

Now, my understanding of emergency contraception is that it's, well, contraception. That it keeps the fertilized egg from being implanted, thus PREVENTING pregnancy, and that it won't affect a pregnancy already in progress. The website's requirement of a negative test would seem to support this idea, and here's a recent Salon article that says the same thing.

So my questions, at last, are these:

• Where do they get off, exactly, calling a dose of Plan B an abortion?
• Even if it's technically, infinitesimally correct to characterize it as such, where do they get off trying to scare already frightened women away from PREVENTING UNWANTED PREGNANCIES IN THE FIRST PLACE??
• The site promises accurate information, and what it delivers is disingenuous at best. How, exactly, does one go about becoming a Google Sponsored Link, and to whom should we direct our wrath on this matter?

Posted by Nastinchka at November 10, 2005 11:37 AM