Most of the time when I have brought up the issue of anti-choice activists also being anti-contraception, people immediately assume that I am talking about the Roman Catholic Church. True, the Vatican has traditionally held the view that contraception of any form is wrong, even to the point of stating that condoms are ineffective against the prevention of STI’s and AIDS. But they rarely believe me when I say that there are people out there who would like to see the birth control pill (and its various reincarnations in other forms) removed from the market.

There was a bit of this issue in the spotlight when Emergency Birth Control (EC) was approved for over the counter sale in the U.S. Now there are protests scheduled this June 7th, on the anniversary of the Griswold v. Connecticut ruling that reversed a law against the use of contraception by married couples. The Supreme Court then held that such a law was a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment – married couples are entitled to privacy in their marital relations, including the decision to use contraception.

Now the American Life League is encouraging people to protest birth control pills in front of facilities that provide them. The primary basis for their arguments is that even before fertilization, human ovum should be considered pre-born children – this is my assumption, based on their contention that birth control pills are in fact abortifacient because they create a “hostile environment” for the creation of life. To bolster their case, they evidently scoured all the historical data they could find on the various forms of the pill from its initial discovery, listing even the rarest side-effects as though they were common, and including ones that are no longer relevant since the dosage levels have dropped.

Based on the video offered on the main page of their website, their target audience is young people, and they are banking on them not doing their own research to verify whether or not this movement is being truthful. The current trend toward abstinence-only education makes their job easier, since the young people are not being offered accurate information in classrooms.

RH Reality Check has offered information on this protest, and has opened the situation up for comments. They also have resources that refute the claims of the anti-contraception activists. To date, I have not seen anything about counter-protests, but Planned Parenthood of America or NARAL Pro-Choice may have information for individuals who are interested in this sort of action.