Definitions and semantic ambivalence
1. What is contraception?
Contraception means “any artificial method used, to a degree more or less temporary, to prevent (contra) conception (ception), i.e. the successful penetration of an ovum by a spermatozoa (fertilization) in the fallopian tubes. Contraception intentionally places an objective obstacle in the way of fertilization, in a way which is temporary, reversible. A distinction must be drawn between contraception and periodic abstinence, in which a couple places no obstacle in the way of procreation, which is a non-contraceptive method of ‘birth control’”.
Contraception is therefore an obstacle put in the way of fertilization that is:
- artificial (it does not use resources that are available in the body);
- volontary;
- temporary (were it permanent, we would call it sterilization).
“This obstacle can be:
- hormonal, biochemical: it inhibits follicle maturation, preventing the ovaries from releasing an egg. This is the case of the normal pill, which is called ‘combined’, oestroprogestogenic (combination of oestrogen that blocks the ovary and progestogen that reinforces the action of oestrogens);
- secreting: the cervical mucus becomes thick and viscous, preventing spermatozoa from entering the uterus. This happens when progestogen is administered in the form of pills, intramuscular injections or subcutaneous implants;
- mechanical, barrier methods: a solid silicone barrier is placed between the spermatozoa in the vagina and the uterus (male and female condoms)”.
2. What is an abortion?
It is “the expulsion from the uterus of an embryo or foetus, causing its death, as a result of a natural, involuntary process (spontaneous abortion, ‘miscarriage’) or a voluntary, artificial process (induced, elective abortion). This expulsion can be the consequence of an obstacle placed to the embryo’s implantation in the uterus, as is the case of interceptive contraception (IUD, morning-after pill), or of the early interruption of a pregnancy leading to the elimination of the embryo after its implantation (contragestion)”.
3. Semantic ambivalence
“The word ‘contraception’ suggests the idea of an obstacle put to conception, and its use should be limited to techniques that inhibit oocyte maturation or place an obstacle between spermatozoa and oocytes. In fact, the word ‘contraception’ is currently used in a much wider and vaguer sense because no contraceptive techniques in present use are purely contraceptive: all contraceptive techniques on the market today have, in varying degrees, an abortive effect by eliminating the embryo in the days following conception”.
The word “contraception” is therefore currently used to designate at the same time:
- the inhibition of the ovary or the prevention of the fertilization of the ovum by the spermatozoa;
- an obstacle to the implantation of the embryo in the uterus, leading to its expulsion, which amounts to an abortion.
4. Redefinition and creation of new terms
“In the wake of artificial insemination techniques and the resolution of the legal problems thereby posed”, certain key terms regarding of reproduction have been redefined.
“Conception, and hence the beginning of pregnancy, have been dissociated from fertilization, and associated with implantation of the embryo in the uterus. The prevention of implantation of the embryo is therefore not considered as an abortion, but as still part of contraception”. Hence the creation of a new term, “pre-embryo”, to indicate “an embryo in the stages preceding implantation”. The embryo is thereby downgraded and becomes “something undifferentiated”, “a mass of cells which does not call for any particular respect”. But this semantic construction “runs counter to the objective truth of the individuality and autonomy of the pre-implantation embryo”.
5. Periodic abstinence
Another semantic confusion, of a different nature, refers to natural family planning methods, which are often erroneously called “contraceptive” by those who do not take into consideration the moral implications of both approaches and do not differentiate them. Periodic abstinence “that describes the behaviour of a couple who uses natural methods to regulate births is in no way contraceptive. It allows a couple to space births without manipulating sexuality or disrupting their natural bodily rhythms. It is based on the acknowledgement by the spouse, by simple self-observation, of her fertile and infertile periods”.