Plan B Prevents Pregnancy
The Claim
Plan B kills a baby in the womb.
News posted on
Emerging story
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) argued in late June that the Plan B contraceptive is the same as abortion, killing a baby in the womb. The statement was then widely liked and shared on social media.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar discovered that Greene talked about the Plan B method of contraception in an argument concerning a bill before the House “that would allow veterans receiving health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs to receive contraception at no cost, bringing them in line with health care services offered through the Defense Department and private insurance plans,” according to the hill.com. Some conservative Republicans, including Greene, argued that paying for contraception effectively amounts to abortion –and specifically, that the Plan B form of contraception “kills a baby in the womb once a woman is already pregnant.” The bill is called The Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act, H.R. 239 according to Military.com. It was passed in the House mostly among party lines.
Sometimes called the “morning after pill,” Plan B is used to prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex or following a contraceptive accident. Plan B is a one dose pill of the hormone levonorgestrel. This type of contraception is not like RU-486, which is an abortion pill. Plan B (and other types of morning after pills containing levonorgestrel such as Plan B One-Step, Aftera, or others) works primarily by delaying or preventing ovulation, therefore preventing the woman from getting pregnant.
Since Plan B prevents pregnancy from ever taking place, we rate this claim as false.
