Plan B Reduces Abortion. What's Not to Like?

Annual sales of the morning after pill “Plan B” have increased eightfold since gaining FDA approval for over the counter distribution. According to its manufacturer Barr Pharmaceuticals, the pill can lower the risk of pregnancy in 89 percent of cases if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex.
Since unwanted pregnancy often leads to abortion, that should be good news for anyone who would like to see abortions reduced--which I believe includes most Christians. Or so you would think. A coalition of groups with strong ties to the evangelical Christian movement have filed suit to force the government to return Plan B to prescription only status. These are the same groups that fought a bitter battle to keep Plan B off the market completely, and finally succeeded in limiting access to women 18 and over. Those younger must get a doctor’s prescription or find someone old enough to buy it for them.
Since we know these groups are strongly anti-abortion, you have to wonder what motivates them. Every explanation I can imagine seems cynical. Could it be that abortion has been such a successful political issue for them that they don’t want to lose it? Maybe they are all closet liberals who really love big government and want nothing more than federal intrusion in private lives. Well, maybe on this issue only.
Most likely, the real answer has to do with sex. This also explains the connection to the church and Christians. The Catholic Church and conservative Christians in general have long suffered an aversion to sex as pleasure—especially sex outside of marriage—whether or not it leads to pregnancy. Why else would anti-abortion leaders change the definition of pregnancy to the moment of fertilization—rather than implantation in the uterus—and then argue “the pill” should be banned because it might cause abortion by preventing implantation? Surely they must know that criminalizing birth control would mean even more abortions.
No one likes abortion. We all want the numbers reduced. Maybe some day reduced to almost nothing. Plan B is helping. Many Christians also want to enjoy one of God’s greatest gifts—strong, healthy sex lives—without intrusion from government or anyone else who thinks it’s their right to take control.