Pharmacist asks greater accountability on ‘safe sex’ from her colleagues; “Why are we as a profession going along with the lie that postcoital contraception is not abortifacients?”

The journal of UK pharmacists, The Pharmaceutical Journal, ran an article by RoseMary Baker, a pharmacist from the Wirral, showing the downside of ‘safe sex’.
‘Are we being as fair to the public about sex as we are about smoking or eating sweets or drinking alcohol?  Do we highlight the failure rate of contraceptives or do we couch the true failure rate in terms like “if used effectively”. Do we shout from the rooftops the fact that many progesterone only pills are likely to fail if the dose is more than three hours late? Have we fought for a Government health warning on condoms which says “this product is likely to fail if you have never used a condom before and you are fumbling around in the dark at the back of the youth club”? Do we help to punch home the truth that sexually transmitted infections really are transmitted sexually, are highly unpleasant and often lead to infertility later in life?’

‘Why are we as a profession going along with the lie that postcoital contraception is not abortifacients? Someone, and I do not know who, decided that pregnancy does not begin until an embryo is implanted in the lining of the uterus. How can that be? As scientists we should recognise, that a new life form, genetically distinct from either parent, comes into existence when the sperm and ovum fuse. Once that new life form exists, call it what you will, to destroy it is an abortifacient action. Some may not consider that important but we should be telling people the facts so that they can make their own ethical decision.’
‘We tell people half-heartedly about sexually transmitted diseases but encourage wider availability of postcoital contraception and kid ourselves that such supply does not encourage irresponsible behaviour. When passions are running high would not the prospect of buying a tablet in the morning seem more acceptable than breaking the mood while a condom is applied?
Pharmacists who oppose the availability of post-coital contraception over the counter are branded as, at best, kill-joys and more often, religious bigots. In actual fact these pharmacist are the ones who have their minds tuned to the reality of the situation.
The teenage pregnancy statistics for the UK are terrifying. What are we as a profession doing about it? We just find ways of making the morning after pill ever more widely available instead of spreading the word that sex, far more than chocolate and alcohol, needs to be treated with  restraint and respect.’
Twitch of the mantilla to Protect the Pope.