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To: John Valentine
This is only partly correct. The 'morning after' pill is not RU486, but basically just an extra heavy dose of regular birth control pills. It can act to prevent pregnancy in one of two ways:

1) The hormone contained in the birth control pill can act to delay or prevent ovulation. Since conception sometimes takes place a day or two after the act, if the pill is taken after the act but before ovulation and it successfully prevents ovulation then a pregancy can be prevented before it occurs.

2)The hormone can also irritate or thin the lining of the uterus, the preventing implantation of a fertilized embryo. Depending on one's definition of whether the pregnancy begins at conception or implantation, this could constitute an abortion.

I don't claim to have detailed medical expertise, but because of the precise timing requirements for #1 to occur, I have to believe that #2 is the more common mode of operation for the 'morning after' pill.

48 posted on 06/04/2006 6:26:11 AM PDT by CaptainMorgantown
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To: CaptainMorgantown
1) The hormone contained in the birth control pill can act to delay or prevent ovulation. Since conception sometimes takes place a day or two after the act, if the pill is taken after the act but before ovulation and it successfully prevents ovulation then a pregancy can be prevented before it occurs.

No. It can take a good month for the cumulative effect of the birth control pills to set in and prevent ovulation. When used after sex as a birth control, there is nothing the hormones can do to stop a ripening follicle at that point.

Your #2 was correct.

167 posted on 06/04/2006 11:21:59 AM PDT by Yaelle
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