Evaluation of the Mechanism of Action of Anti-fertility Treatment in Cases of Sexual Assault: Moral Certitude and Human Acts

Catholic Hospitals Should Permit Physicians to Provide Emergency Contraception to Rape Victims as an Act of Conscientious Provision

“…Since its debut over two decades ago, some researchers have argued that Plan B works as a contraceptive (ACOG 2015; Hamel 2010; Vrettakos and Bajaj 2021), while others have claimed that it also has abortifacient effects (Davis 2017; Peck et al 2016; Mozzanega and Nardelli 2019). Those who affirm contraceptive effects point to data showing significantly lower pregnancy rates the sooner Plan B is taken.…”

“…In a recent review of these studies, Thomas Davis concludes that, “While no one knows with absolute certitude how LNG works in a given case, the suggestion that the scientific corpus establishes the MOA in the majority of cases is unfounded. Claims that post-fertilization MOA has been proven nonexistent or ‘rare’ has passed onto the ash heap of history” (Davis 2017). 6…”

“…The “pregnancy approach” adopts a looser interpretation of the phrase “adequate testing,” operationalized as a simple menstrual history and pregnancy test. Our analysis of the discourse over the moral permissibility of providing LNG to rape victims here is admittedly cursory, and there are a number of other relevant controversies that arise, such as which side bears the burden of proof (Cataldo 2017; Davis 2017) whether the doctrine of double effect can be applied to the analysis (Berg 2011; Davis 2017), and whether there is always a moral requirement to take the safer course on matters involving potential abortion (Cataldo 2017; Davis 2017). However, our purpose here is not to provide an exhaustive account of the debate, but only to demonstrate that reasonable disagreement exists among thoughtful Catholics on this issue.…”

“…3 This legal asymmetry permits Catholic hospitals to enforce an institutional prohibition of EC by sanctioning, and even firing, physicians who do not abide by that prohibition. 4 Standard approaches to determining the moral permissibility of prescribing LNG to rape victims in Catholic hospitals have attempted to give a definitive argument for or against the practice, but this approach has failed to produce a consensus (Cataldo 2017;Davis 2017). In this article, we adopt a different tack by first briefly describing and acknowledging that reasonable disagreement exists on this question (part one), and then arguing that such reasonable disagreement can serve as a compelling basis for Catholic leadership at hospitals that prohibit EC for rape victims to accommodate physicians who wish to provide EC as a matter of conscience (part two).…”