Plan B: The Morning After Pill

What is the pill?

A high dosage of hormone progestin that when used correctly, prevent of ends pregnancy. It is an emergency contraceptive.

How does it work?

1. Ovulation may be prevented if you haven't already start ovulating (the egg will not be released to meet the sperm)
2. The lining of the fallopian tubes (where fertilization occurs) may be affected so that the sperm cannot reach the egg, preventing fertilization, also known as conception
3. The lining of your uterus will become irritated, and if an egg had already been released and fertilized by the sperm, this irritation will interfere with the ability of the embryo to implant in your uterus.

It is not like I am actually getting an abortion right?

If an egg has been fertilized, and you take the Morning After Pill, it will work to prevent the embryo from implanting in your uterine wall. If this happens, an abortion will occur, because each human life begins as an embryo.

Moore, Keith L. and Persaud, T.V.N, The Developing Human, Clinically Oriented Embryology, 6th Edition, W.B. Saunders Company; Copyright 1998, pages 2 & 3.