Earlier this week, I stumbled upon a Web site called armyofgod.com. A page within this Web site says birth control is the same as abortion.

I hadn’t really thought seriously about this particular argument; however, upon seeing this Web site, I had a very strong reaction.

First, let’s describe the short Web page. This site doesn’t condone birth control because it is merely another method of abortion. A list of links provides a number of sites supporting this idea.

A strip of pictures borders the top of the page, including images of a male condom, birth control pills, morning after pills and other birth control methods.

Near the bottom of the page is this quote: “Birth control is evil and a sin. Birth Control is anti-Baby and anti-Child.

Isn’t that the purpose for birth control to stop the life of an innocent baby from being born? Why would you stop your own child from being conceived or born? What kind of human being are you?”

Before we can explore this claim any further, the term abortion needs to be defined in order to better understand my argument. Merriam-Webster defines abortion as, “the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus,” and/or, “induced expulsion of a human fetus.”

Next, let’s talk about how nonsensical this declaration is.

According to agi-usa.org, male condoms are the third most commonly used contraceptive in the United States, to surgical tube sterilization and the pill. One of the condom’s main functions is to prevent pregnancy. They help to perform this function by, “prevent[ing] sperm from entering the vagina,” according to condoms-direct.com.

Now, I don’t remember everything from my sex education class in high school, but one of the things I do remember is a baby isn’t made until a sperm fertilizes an egg. By wearing a condom, sperm are kept from entering the vagina.

How then, if one is using a condom, is it considered abortion? The sperm does not come into contact with the egg. No baby is made. Since no baby is made, there isn’t one to be aborted as this outrageous claim suggests.

The same is true of the birth control pill, the most commonly used contraceptive in the United States according to agi-usa.org. The Web site kidshealth.org has a page that explains exactly how the birth control pill works.

According to this site, most birth control pills combine the hormones estrogen and progesterone. These prevent ovulation, or the release of an egg during a female’s monthly cycle.

The pill also thickens the mucus around the cervix, making it difficult for sperm to pass through if any eggs were released, and the pill also affects the lining of the uterus, making it harder for an egg to attach to its wall, which is necessary for a successful pregnancy.

An important line on this Web page is, “A woman cannot get pregnant if she doesn’t ovulate because there is no egg to be fertilized.”

Again, because there is no fertilized egg, there is no baby. Abortion, in turn, does not take place.

According to aafp.org, other methods of contraception, such as the vaginal contraceptive ring, the patch and hormone injections provide the same type of birth control as the pill.

Hormones are used to control ovulation, thereby helping to prevent pregnancy.

Obviously, a lesson is to be learned after examining these methods of birth control in relation to this particular claim.

Avoid condemning individuals for something about which you don’t know all the facts. Birth control is about preventing pregnancy from happening, not killing babies.