September 15, 2025

By Grant Van Leuven

I didn’t know much about what is referred to as the Morning After Pill (MAP), often marketed as “Plan B,” but for various reasons I have spent time learning about it and shared my findings with our Session.

What follows below is a study I embarked upon to determine if MAP is or can be an abortifacient drug (a chemically induced abortion)–some Christians say that there is no evidence that it can be while others even assure that the science confirms it cannot and is only ever contraception. This report argues quite the contrary for inquiring minds who want to know the truth.

Though related more directly to another topic, we offer this wise advice on how to approach an appropriately informed understanding and conveying of information about MAP:

“It is especially important to continue to test our information … to ensure our opinions are based on correct, not false, information.  At the least, we should not spread false information … Having a consistent political witness means promoting a consistent pro-life ethic, recognizing that all human life, at any stage of development and despite any qualifier, has dignity because each person is made in the image of God …”¹

Following are excerpts from various sources of my research to offer our church’s Session for review which demonstrates that even a cursory study shows the science does not support saying MAP never risks ending a conceived child’s life. It is intended to provide a helpful summary of sources namely for Christians and especially confessional and Reformed. All underlined sections are my added emphasis.

Brochure from True Choice Medical Clinics, “Morning After Pill (Plan B One Step®)”:

“When an egg and sperm come together a unique human being is created … All that is needed is time and protection and that person who began so small will be born …”

“Besides the side effects and the failure rate, there is still the reality that Plan B One Step® can kill little human beings …”

“The way the Morning After Pills work is to change the natural availability of normal female hormones in her body.  The goal is to alter what her ovaries and uterine lining do naturally into something that is unnatural.”

“Plan B One Step® is frequently referred to as ‘The Morning After Pill’ or MAP.  It can also be referred to as ‘Emergency Contraception’ [though a baby is not actually an emergency] … It is a serious drug that can have serious consequences up to and including causing an early abortion.  The reality is, the morning after pill seems convenient, but it can end a life!”

“How Plan B One Step® Works [referencing the source of this information as Plan B One Step®’s own ‘Highlights of Prescribing Information’ that will be directly quoted next] …

“1. Stops Ovulation.  The main way Plan B One Step® prevents pregnancy is by the prevention of ovulation.  If this works, the egg is not released and cannot be fertilized.  If that fails …

“2. Stops Sperm From Reaching Egg.  The Second way pregnancy is prevented is by changing the cervical mucus, which increases the difficulty of sperm entry into the uterus.  Again, the egg will not be fertilized.  If that fails …”

Here we pause to note that, while there are differing opinions by Christians on the moral legitimacy of using birth control, at this point we acknowledge there has been no abortion because there has been no conception.  But this is not where the MAP may end.

“3. Stops Fertilized Egg from Implanting.  The third method of prevention is that the fertilized egg may not be able to implant in the uterus because of changes to the lining, killing an already conceived individual. If that fails …”

At this point, The Morning After Pill’s own instructions surely based on their science is that if an egg is conceived (steps 1 and 2 not necessarily preventing it), it is entirely possible and intended that a fertilized egg (conceived life) will be destroyed.  Thus, the Morning After Pill can become an abortifacient.

“4.  If all steps fail, woman still becomes pregnant.  About 1 in 6 women using Plan B One Step® who would have become pregnant may still become pregnant.  This is a 16% failure rate per use of Plan B One Step® (levonorgestrel).”

Therefore, in addition to our main assertion that MAP can be an abortifacient at step 3 per above, because it has a high failure rate for keeping a woman from becoming pregnant it is hardly a good option for contraception–not to mention that it could harm or kill the mother. Using MAP can have serious risks:

“If taking this pill, a woman should be alert to the possibility of having an ectopic (tubal) pregnancy, that can be life-threatening and damaging to her reproductive system.”  Even the drug’s own label points out (not in fine print, though also not as direct about potential maternal death): “If you have severe lower stomach (abdominal) pain about 3 to 5 weeks after taking Plan B® One-Step, you may have a pregnancy outside the uterus, which is called a tubal pregnancy. A tubal pregnancy requires immediate medical treatment, so you should see a healthcare professional right away.” 

Plan B One Step® Label for its Product and its Scientific Explanation (as referred to by True Choice per above–even put in laymen’s terms on these pharmacuetical labels). 
accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2009/021998lbl.pdf:

The company info is listed as Mfg. by Gedeon Richter, Ltd., Budapest, Hungary for Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Subsidiary of Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Pomona, New York 10970 Phone: 1-800-330-1271 Website: www.PlanBOneStep.com.  Please note, its own instructions about MAP include: 

• “it may inhibit implantation (by altering the endometrium) [and thus would on such an occasion be an abortifacient] …
• “Plan B® One-Step contains a higher dose of levonorgestrel than birth control pills, but works in a similar way to prevent pregnancy. It works mainly by stopping the release of an egg from the ovary. It is possible that One-Step may also work by preventing fertilization of an egg (the uniting of sperm with the egg) or [if a sperm and egg do unite, causing conception of life] by preventing attachment (implantation) [of that conceived life] to the uterus (womb).”

Here it is important to recognize the equivocation of terms.  This drug company is not defining “pregnancy” as fertilization or conception unless the inseminated egg undergoing cleavage successfully attaches to the uterine wall to keep growing!

This needs to be made more obvious and essential while analyzing with attentive discernment what follows on the drug company’s label:

“There is no medical evidence that Plan B® One-Step would harm a developing baby. If you take Plan B® One-Step (accidentally) after you are already pregnant or it does not work and you become pregnant, it is not likely to cause any harm to you or your pregnancy. The pregnancy will continue. Plan B® One-Step will not work if you are already pregnant.” 

The company obviously does not consider conception of life as “pregnancy.”  It uses the word with an entirely different meaning. Josh McClure, the Executive Director of Pregnancy Care Clinic, in El Cajon, with whom I have worked for more than a decade as a volunteer as well as steering committee member helping to open their satellite office near our church, pointed this problem out to me during my investigative phone interview. He said the big issue to qualify is that the defined terms are not clearly communicated.²

Though the drug company’s website lists in the FAQ section that “Plan B is not an abortion pill and will not affect pregnancy”, and “Do not use: If you are already pregnant (because it will not work),” yet its working definition of “pregnancy” is not conception but only when a fertilized egg safely connects to the lining of his or her mother’s uterus (by its design as a last-effort “fail safe” to ultimately intend to ensure no baby comes from the recent insemination).  Thus, it does not call ending a conceived life an “abortion” based on it not acknowledging the fertilized egg as a baby per its description of “pregnancy” as uterine attachment.

We trust that all Christians agree that life begins at conception.  Therefore, the understanding of some of this information as science showing that MAP is not an abortifacient is interpretative “science falsely so called” per 1 Timothy 6:20 with how Psalm 139 speaks of conception as life.³

When some, evening well-meaning Christians, say there is “no evidence” of MAP risking abortion, we wish to ask, to what are you referring to prove this?  As indicated here, the drug’s own information says it could cause what actually would be an abortion by inhibiting the implantation of a fertilized egg (which is conception and pregnancy as Biblically defined).  It is said that today the vast majority of abortions are chemical.

Further testimony about MAP as being a definite risk of aborting a conceived child follows.

Focus on the Family, “the MORNING- AFTER PILL” by Vicki L. Dihle, PA-C
focusonthefamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/the-morning-after-booklet-updated-2020.pdf:

“At the dosage found in Plan B One-Step, levonorgestrel may work on rare occasions to prevent an embryo from implanting in the uterus.1 [this footnote references FDA Prescribing and Label Information for Plan B® One-Step]  … Depending on where you are in your menstrual cycle, morning-after pill drugs could affect you in one of several ways for the length of your cycle … It may prevent ovulation. The egg will not be released to meet the sperm—so fertilization, sometimes known as conception, can’t occur. Additionally, it may affect the lining of your fallopian tubes so that sperm cannot reach the egg. This also prevents fertilization. It may thin the lining of your uterus. If an egg has already been released and fertilized by the sperm, this thinning could make it harder for the embryo to implant in your uterus … YOU SHOULD KNOW: The cramping and abdominal pain that may result from the use of a morning-after pill can mask the symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy, which requires emergency care … This is a potentially life-threatening condition in which a fertilized egg implants outside of the uterus—most often in the fallopian tubes … The morning-after pill won’t end an ectopic pregnancy … If you have severe abdominal pain three to five weeks after using the morning-after pill, or if you miss your next menstrual period, you should see your health-care professional to rule out a pregnancy (either ectopic or within the uterus) … An embryo growing in a fallopian tube will require emergency care … WHAT HAPPENS IF I USE EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION AFTER FERTILIZATION?  … The high dose of levonorgestrel found in Plan B One-Step® may irritate the lining of your uterus. That irritation may keep the embryo inside you from implanting, ending its life… If either of these happens, an abortion will occur, because each human life begins as an embryo … SO, HOW CAN I KNOW IF AN EGG HAS BEEN FERTILIZED? … That’s the problem—you can’t know … But we do know that sperm can reach the fallopian tubes mere minutes after intercourse and if an egg has already been released, fertilization could occur … So, by the time you wake up on the “morning after,” a new human life may have already begun … If that’s the case, using emergency contraception might cause a very early abortion … The Morning-After Pill … may cause a very early abortion if fertilization has already occurred.”

“I Had Unprotected Sex … NOW WHAT?,” in Before You Decide: Get the Facts First Choose with Confidence, p. 10 (Magazine booklet produced by B4YOUDECIDE.ORG.)⁴:

“ … emergency contraception (EC) … may prevent the new life from implanting in the uterus, ending a very early pregnancy, rather than preventing the pregnancy altogether … It may work by delaying or preventing the release of the egg (ovulation).  It may also alter the normal hormonal flow and cause disruption to healthy implantation and growth that results in death of the embryo … Consider the cost … [the] potential to interrupt the development of a new life.”

Reformed Perspective, “A careful look at the issue of birth control. Children: a calling and a blessing,” by Cory and Lael Griess (Close personal friends and a mutual minister and Cory is now a professor at his denomination’s seminary). 
reformedperspective.ca/children-a-calling-and-a-blessing-a-careful-look-at-the-issue-of-birth-control:

Under “WHAT BIRTH CONTROL IS ETHICALLY PERMISSIBLE?”: 

“If a couple before the face of God honestly believes they ought to use birth control at a certain time in their life, what forms are ethically acceptable? All Reformed couples ought to personally research the matter in order to make God-honoring decisions. Here is what we have discovered in our own research [which they note included consulting with believing medical doctors they know personally in addition to the other written resource references they footnote] … “

“Emergency contraception“

“First of all, we must begin with the conviction that life begins at conception. [Footnote 7 reads, “ … the main reason for this position is conclusive. At the moment of fertilization there is a complete genome (determining gender, eye color, height, body type, etc) in the new being. Therefore, the new being is another individual life separate from that of the father and mother. If an individual being with a complete genome, separate from the life of the mother and father is not a separate life, then what is it?”].  So many doctors (some Christian ones too), speak of life beginning at various other points in the growth process of the fertilized egg. What one says about when life begins will determine what one says about what forms of birth control are ethically permissible. [Footnote 8 reads, “If you ask a doctor (even some Christian ones) if a particular form of birth control causes an abortion he may say no, but that may be because he believes life does not begin at conception. He may also further confuse the issue by stating that this particular drug cannot terminate a pregnancy. This is because he may define pregnancy as beginning later than the moment of conception.“

“All forms of chemical birth control that are taken after intercourse, such as the “morning-after pill,” RU-486, “emergency contraception,” etc., are abortifacients (drugs which induce abortion). Using these drugs after intercourse, and if you have conceived (which one does not know) it is no different from going into an abortion clinic to kill your child a few months later. It is murder.”

Q&A on the Morning-After Pill, Christian Life Resources
christianliferesources.com/2018/05/04/qa-on-the-morning-after-pill:

“The debate continues regarding the morning-after pill’s classification as an abortifacient (meaning it causes an abortion) or a contraceptive (meaning it prevents conception). Evidence suggests it can serve in both capacities. The morning-after pill is designed to suppress ovulation. When that occurs it works as a contraceptive. In some situations, however, the timing is such that the morning-after pill is taken after ovulation so the hormones are unable to prevent the release of an ovum. Evidence shows that the morning-after pill can also alter the uterine lining which might prevent the implantation of an embryo. If an embryo is unable to implant, then the morning-after pill acts as an abortifacient.  In addition to the potential abortifacient nature of the morning-after pill, Christian Life Resources is also concerned that this medication is specifically marketed to single women who want sexual freedom without the “risk” of a pregnancy. We cannot condone a method of birth control that is intended to promote ‘safe sinning.’”

Pastoral Q & A: The Morning After Pill, by Wes Bredenhof
bredenhof.ca/2018/07/24/pastoral-q-a-the-morning-after-pill:

“… we need to reflect on is the actual facts regarding the MAP/Plan B.  The Health Direct website (and others like it) does not tell the full story.  The truth of the matter is that there are studies which suggest that the MAP can have an abortive effect (even the Wikipedia article acknowledges this — with sources).  If an egg has been fertilized, the MAP can prevent that human life from continuing to live in the womb.  No one can categorically say with 100% certainty that the MAP never causes early abortions.”

Celebrate Life Magazine: A Publication of American Life League Building a Culture of Life: “PRO-LIFE BASICS: Everybody knows that the morning-after pill [also known as “emergency contraception”] doesn’t cause abortion, so why are you deceiving us by claiming that it does?”
clmagazine.org/post/pro-life-basics-everybody-knows-that-the-morning-after-pill-also-known-as-emergency-contraception-doesnt-cause-abortion-so-why-are-you-deceiving-us-by-claiming-that-it-d:

“Unlike the false claims often made about the morning-after pill (which conform to popular opinion and government-imposed policies), the information American Life League presents is based on scientific facts … of the morning-after pill’s three possible mechanisms of action is preventing an embryonic preborn baby from implanting in the lining of the uterus—which causes an abortion. This lethal effect has been verified by scientific research and acknowledged in patient information, although manufacturers and other promoters typically use misleading language (e.g., referring to a human embryo as a “fertilized egg” and falsely defining pregnancy as beginning at implantation) to disguise this grim reality.”

The Orthodox Presbyterian Church’s article, “Christian View of Contraception:
opc.org/qa.html?question_id=13:

“The Bible does not, as far as I can tell, give us any proscription or prohibition with reference to contraception. Of course, so called “day after” pills are not really contraception as much as they are abortion … would be forbidden and be considered the taking of life, a violation of the Sixth Commandment.”

Local Pittsburgh ABC TV Affiliate, “Geneva College can exclude morning-after pill coverage”
(This school in Beaver Falls, PA, is affiliated with its denominational sister institution—the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, where I worked in admin and earned my M.Div. while I was at that point a member of its denomination).
geneva-college-can-exclude-morning-after-pill-coverage/7461739:

“PITTSBURGH — A federal judge says a Christian college in western Pennsylvania can exclude coverage for birth control like the morning-after pill and the week-after pill when it offers a health insurance plan to its students … The school in Beaver Falls is affiliated with the Reformed Presbyterian Church and argues certain types of birth control violate its religious beliefs against abortion.”

Babies have the right to cross life’s first border of their mother’s womb and be welcomed into our world. Difficult and even dire circumstances don’t change the fact that an innocent life, an Imago Dei, is always to be protected from risk of death. Conceived children–despite some horrible situations that could cause their conception, are never actually themselves “emergencies” (which is frankly, another equivocation of terms).

As well, potential comments that other vital mercy ministry work also is saving lives doesn’t minimize the importance of Christians being consistent in this area of protecting the sanctity of all lives including the pre-born. 

We must be careful to avoid what Malcolm Gladwell speaks about as “moral licensing,” a phenomenon described by social psychologists as letting “past good deeds … liberate individuals to engage in behaviors that are immoral, unethical, or otherwise problematic—behaviors that they would otherwise avoid for fear of feeling or appearing immoral.”  (See pushkin.fm/podcasts/revisionist-history/the-lady-vanishes.)  Maxwell explains, “When we do something good, in other words, sometimes we then on occasion give ourselves permission to do something bad … because you’ve proven to the world what a good person you are.” 

Sometimes that bad could be a self-justified neglect, omission, or poorly researched or defended position with other lives potentially at stake.  Or that bad can simply allow certain priorities of foci to avoid other important issues when awkward.  But as Christians seek influence in every area of life this must not compromise our integrity regarding possibly inconvenient stances on all forms of abortion (see Focus on the Family’s Pastor to Pastor podcast with David Stone, “Integrity Over Influence with Samuel Rodriguez”: integrity-over-influence-with-samuel-rodriguez/id1799837109?i=1000714315233).  

Further, if we let any one commitment allow us to avoid dealing with other extremely important ones according to our Lord, one needs to consider when that dismissive disposition might be in danger of becoming an all-consuming identity and potentially idolatrous while denying justice to the least in our society.  Consider these cautionary comments in this context:

• “ … the idols plaguing the American church are not made of wood, metal, or stone, but instead lie in ideas, passions, and relationships that continually demand more of our hearts and lives.  And like every idol that humans have ever worshiped and served, they will destroy our soul.”
• “Anything becomes an idol when we seek peace, comfort, or security through it rather than in God.”
• “Elevating any person or their views to a place where they cannot be questioned is idolatry, and this idolatrous loyalty also creates a vicious cycle: we begin to view our ways as exclusive and seek out only voices who reinforce our views, as they beckon to us to do the same.”⁵

We believe that promoting the idea that there is no scientific evidence that the Morning After Pill can be an abortifacient is at best a naïve lack of discernment (and likely of research) and is not an appropriate position for Christians to take based both upon consistent Scriptural commitment and discerning scientific inquiry, and that it risks supporting the execution of a conceived child and the life of his or her mother.

Footnotes

1. Matthew Sorens and Jenny Yang, Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion, & Truth in the Immigration Debate: Revised and Expanded (Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Books, 2018), 179. ↩︎
2. Click here to listen to a message by Josh McClure speaking for a Wednesday Night service at our church entitled, “Abortion and the Need for Pregnancy Care Clinics.” Also, for a discussion about politics in San Diego endangering lives about a year ago, click here to listen to a Pastor Scott KKLA/KPRZ Radio Interview with Josh and me. As well, click here for an interview I led with Josh about the same topic on our then running Man’s Chief End Radio program on KPRZ. Related, see also the authors’ article, “Ultrasounds and Sonograms Save Babies’ Lives—A Call to Support Pregnancy Care Clinics.”  ↩︎
3. Click here to read the author’s article that engages with Psalm 139, “God Personally Cares for Children in the Womb and Prescribes Punishment for Aborting Them, Rewards for Protecting Them.” In particular, “In verse 16 of Psalm 139, the Hebrew for ‘substance’ actually indicates embryo, which is therefore seen by God directly as He works on the child within the mother (so the Spanish Reina-Valera version translates the phrase, ‘Mi embrión’).” ↩︎
4. Thanks to Elder Malcolm Maxwell of our church for acquiring this for me at Pregnancy Care Clinic’s satellite location nearby. ↩︎
5. Eric Costanzo, Daniel Yang, and Matthew Soerens, INALIENABLE: How Marginalized Kingdom Voices Can Help Save the American Church (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2022), 66-67, 69, 75. ↩︎