Dr. Christina Francis is a board certified OBGYN. Courtesy | Christina Francis

Drugs marketed as tools of birth control would encompass both the prevention of pregnancies as well as the destruction of embryos in the 1960s and 1970s, said Christina Francis in a speech hosted by Hillsdale College for Life March 31.

“This change in definition then allowed for the use of drugs or devices for contraception that act after fertilization to be defined as contraceptives,” said Francis, a board certified OBGYN. “They could say, ‘Well, this prevents a pregnancy from occurring.’ Now, if you or I hear that, we might think that means no embryo is ever created, right?” 

In her talk, titled “A Review of Contraceptives from a Life-Affirming Perspective,” Francis said pregnancy is now defined as after an embryo is implanted in the uterus. Drugs that destroy an embryo or prevent them from implanting, Francis said, are considered contraceptives. 

“If you really want to be consistent in your pro-life ethic, and you want to be sure that even at our early stages, those early embryos don’t lose their lives as a result of these drugs, then we have to look at things a little bit differently,” Francis said. 

According to Francis, there are large discrepancies between the risk of pregnancy and the percentage of women who actually get pregnant while taking popular contraceptives. Francis said this implies that created embryos are not surviving implantation. 

“There is enough of a suggestion there because of that discrepancy that we see between actual pregnancy rates and what we would expect to see if they were only working by preventing ovulation,” Francis said. “Common sense would tell you that it’s acting through one of those other mechanisms.”

Francis said there is a massive need for more research into these contraceptives, but no one is financing that research. 

“The only safe methods if you are wanting to ensure no loss of life are those that prevent fertilization from ever occurring, or if they do allow fertilization, have no impact on a uterine lining whatsoever,” Francis said. 

In the talk, Francis also addressed emergency contraceptives like Plan B, which is currently sold over the counter in all 50 states, and Ella, which could be sold over the counter in the future. 

“Ella is important for you to know about because it’s on the rise right now,” Francis said. “It’s a relative of mifepristone, and it acts in exactly the same way. It can prevent ovulation, but it can also prevent implantation, and it can kill an already implanted embryo.” 

Students said they appreciated Francis for bringing clarity to a confusing and controversial topic. 

“I really appreciated her straightforward approach and her clarity in defining the terms, because I’ve realized how twisted language can get,” freshman Lyndi Klacik said. 

Klacik said it was helpful to know that even if something was legally labeled as a contraceptive that simply prevented pregnancy, it might actually be destroying a life that had already formed. 

“It was very interesting to learn about all of the different technicalities of wording in trying to get certain agendas across,” freshman Sofia LaHood said. 

Francis concluded by saying the only contraceptives we can be sure do not kill an embryo are fertility awareness-based methods and barrier methods, and pointed the audience to aaplog.org for more information.

“I don’t know that I could recommend any hormonal contraceptive at this point with the evidence that we have,” Francis said.

Dr. Francis’s remarks reflect her own opinions and do not represent the views of AAPLOG or any other organization she is affiliated with.