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Medical Dictionaries Prove Plan B Advocates Wrong

By Ruben Obregon

Around the nation, news reports concerning Plan B feature claims from abortion advocates that the "medically accepted definition" of pregnancy begins with implantation of a fertilized egg  (which is what they claim conception means). These claims are made with an air of certainty and credibility by these advocates, and are often presented as uncontested facts in the news stories. (See QUOTES OF INTEREST below.)

Plan B advocates go so far as to claim that the “anti-choice” movement is trying to change the "long standing" definitions of pregnancy and conception in an attempt to ban birth control and emergency contraception.

Often they cite prominent physicians, medical text books, and medical organizations such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) to bolster their claims. They almost always forget to mention that many OB/GYNs disagree with their views. [1]

Reporters tend to take these claims at face value when reporting on the subject. The claims of the pro-life side of this debate are not reported in the same light of credibility. This is somewhat understandable, after all, who appears to be more credible to the average reporter -- the local pro-life leader or the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)? Abortion advocates play heavily on the credibility of these sources and on the trust of the reporters.

Admittedly, these advocates have enjoyed a strong wave of publicity on TV, in print, and on the internet.

Despite the air of having won the debate on this issue, these claims have a fatal flaw -- most medical dictionaries back up the claims of the Plan B opponents. (See DEFINITIONS below). Medical dictionaries have a prominent role in this debate since they are relatively free of bias -- something which cannot be easily said about teaching texts and encyclopedias cited by these advocates.

Medical dictionaries such as Stedman's (28th edition) and Mosby's (7th edition), two of the most popular medical dictionaries, define conception as fertilization and not implantation.[2]  These widely respected medical resources are the same dictionaries technical writers use when writing medical texts and references.

These dictionaries help disprove that the "longstanding, medically accepted" definition of conception is the moment of implantation.

Stedman's and Mosby's aren't the only medical texts which define conception as the meeting of sperm and egg (fertilization). A quick stop the medical section of a local bookstore reveals that a majority of medical dictionaries recognize fertilization/post fertilization (prior to implantation)  as the beginning of pregnancy. (See FIGURE 1 DEFINITIONS OF CONCEPTION below for a representative sample.)

Health guides from from Harvard Medical School, the American Medical Association, the American college of Physicians, and Baaron's also share this same singular definition of conception. And contrary to the claims of the Plan B advocates, these are not religious institutions or right wing extremists.

That doesn't mean there aren't any dictionaries to support their view – there are a small number of them, including the dictionaries of National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Cancer Institute (NCI).  Some dictionaries give both definitions, often with an emphasis on fetilization and with a lesser emphasis of implantation.

Furthermore, the idea that their claims represent the “longstanding definition” of conception is not historically correct. The 1913 edition of the Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary defines conception as “the act of becoming pregnant; fertilization of an ovum by a spermatozoon” [3] In fact, until the ACOG irresponsibly changed their definition of conception in 1965, there wasn’t even a serious debate on the subject – conception meant fertilization.

All of the medical texts reviewed for this article list either conception or the end of conception (but prior to implantation) as the starting point of pregnancy. A majority of these texts define conception as the moment of fertilization. It's important to note that implantation occurs 5 days after fertilization, and that definitions which use "after conception" (post fertilization) as the beginning of pregnancy do not imply implantation. 

The propaganda campaign waged by Plan B advocates has resulted in a denial of accurate medical information for women. It has also resulted in legal and political problems for pharmacists who do not want to distribute drugs which have the intended effect of causing an intentional abortion.

In conclusion, a majority of medical dictionaries contradict the claims of the abortion rights advocates and many medical organizations. They also prove that Plan B is capable of aborting an established but not yet implanted pregnancy. [4] In light of this, the FDA should immediately halt any discussions concerning over the counter availability of Plan B – abortifacient drugs should not be sold over the counter.
 

Figure 1. Definitions of Conception

FOOTNOTES

[1] "Informed consent and the redefining of conception: A decision ill-conceived?", Joseph A. Spinnato, The Journal of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Volume 7, Issue 6, 1998. Pages 264-268. A study which shows a majorty of 112 members of the louisville Ob/GYn society and the ACOG's definition of conception. A majority, 86%, believe that fertilization is the correct meaning of conception. Available at http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/30000120/ABSTRACT

[2] Sources: Mosby's Medical dictionary 7th ed, 2006 and Stedman’s Medical Dictionary, 28th Edition, 2006.

[3] Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), http://dict.die.net/conception/

[4] The view that pregnancy begins at implantation and not fertilization forms the basis for the claim that Plan B cannot cause an abortion. According to this view, implantation marks the beginning of pregnancy so preventing it does not meet the medical definition of an [intentional] abortion. After all, if one isn't yet pregnant, one cannot have an abortion. This view is not supported by a majority of medical dictionaries.

DEFINITIONS

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Mosby’s Medical dictionary, 7th Edition, (c) 2006

Conception (l, concipere, to take together), 1. The beginning of pregnancy, usually taken to be the instant that a spermatozoon enters an ovum and forms a viable zygote. 2. the act or process of fertilization (AUTHORS NOTE: The term “usually” mean usually, that is, commonly encountered or observed, or regularly and customarily used. )

Pregnancy: The gestational process, comprising the growth and development within a woman of a new individual from conception through the embryonic and fetal periods to birth.

Stedman’s Medical Dictionary, 28th Edition, (c) 2006

Conception. 3. Fertilziation of oocyte by a sperm (latin conception; see concept)

Pregnancy: The state of the female after conception and until the termination of the gestation.

Websters New World Medical Dictionary, Second Edition, (c) 2003

Conception: The union of a sperm and an egg to create the first cell of a new organism. The term Conception has also been used to imply implantation of the blastocyst, the formation of a viable zygote, and the onset of pregnancy.

Pregnancy: The state of carrying a developing embryo or fetus within the female body.

Embryo: An organism in the early stages of growth and differentiation from fertilization to the beginning of the third month in humans.

QUOTES OF INTEREST

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1. “The long-standing medical definition of pregnancy, held by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, is that it starts not when an egg is fertilized, but when the fertilized egg implants in the uterine lining.” Access Denied, by Caroline Booinger, Prevention magazine.

2. "As Gloria Feldt, head of Planned Parenthood, pointed out when I spoke to her by phone, 'antichoice people are trying to redefine pregnancy to begin at fertilization rather than implantation,' which is the medical definition of pregnancy, and EC is the wedge.", “Toothpaste, Cough Drops, Aspirin, Contraception" by Katha Pollitt, The Nation

3. "But most doctors say that fertilized egg alone does not constitute the beginning of a pregnancy. Tina Raine is an Obstetrician / Gynecologists at the University of California, San Francisco: 'We consider.. define pregnancy as when a fertilized egg implanted or established itself in the uterus....Emergency contraception does not have an effect on an established pregnancy' ", "Emergency Contraception and the Pregnancy Debate", by Julie Rovner, NPR Morning Edition, August 4, 2005.

RELATED LINKS

Claims that Contraception Reduces Abortion are Debunked

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ruben Obregon is the the President and co-founder of No Room for Contraception.  He has worked in the pro-family movement for the past 16 years on issues ranging from education to marriage.