Thanks, Jeri!

BTW, there is an interesting editorial at National Catholic Reporter on the issue of abortion and a shift in the platform of the Democratic Party.

Here's part of what the Wall Street Journal published about this whole thing:

he Bush Administration has ignited a furor with a proposed definition of pregnancy that has the effect of classifying some of the most widely used methods of contraception as abortion.

A draft regulation, still being revised and debated, treats most birth-control pills and intrauterine devices as abortion because they can work by preventing fertilized eggs from implanting in the uterus. The regulation considers that destroying "the life of a human being."

Many medical groups disagree. They hold that pregnancy isn't established until several days after conception, when the fertilized egg has grown to a cluster of several dozen cells and burrowed into the uterine wall. Anything that disrupts that process, in their view, is contraception.

The draft regulation, circulating within the Department of Health and Human Services, would have no immediate effect on the legality of the pill or the IUD if implemented because abortion is legal. But opponents fear it would undercut dozens of state laws designed to promote easy access to these methods of birth control, used by more than 12 million women a year.

There is a long paper about the issue HERE by pro-life ob-gyns which includes the following:

An extensive review of pertinent scientific writings indicates that there is no credible evidence to validate a mechanism of pre-implantation abortion as a part of the action of hormone contraceptives. On the contrary, the existing evidence indicates that "on pill" conceptions are handled by the reproductive system with the same results seen with "off pill" conceptions, with the exception of increased ectopic rates seen with POPs and Norplant.

and:

In order to classify COCs (combined oral contraceptives) as an abortifacient, several things must exist:

1) Conceptions must occur.
2) The abortive effect must be present with proper use as prescribed.
3) Loss of these conceptions must exceed the base-line loss for populations not using this substance, or be shown to occur due solely to the medication itself, and not other known factors.
4) The abortive effect should be consistent and reproducible by multiple independent observers.

There are no studies that we are aware of regarding combined oral contraceptives or Depoprovera that demonstrate numbers 2,3, or 4. (Increased ectopic pregnancies seen with progestin only pills (POPs) and Norplant will be discussed in the appropriate section below.)

It is a very interesting paper.