The Galton Institute exists to promote the public understanding of human heredity and to facilitate informed debate about the ethical issues raised by advances in reproductive technology. It also publishes studies in the historical development of these topics. The Institute is a registered charity and does not seek to advocate particular applications of scientific understanding or reproductive technology, only to ensure that those taking decisions do so in the light of all relevant facts and after consideration of all relevant issues. A fuller statement of the Institute's objectives is available elsewhere on this site.
Suppose that emergency contraception works exactly as its opponents claim. Would it follow that taking emergency contraception is morally equivalent to intentionally procuring an abortion? Perhaps surprisingly, I shall argue that it would not. If one accepts the doctrine of double effect, there would be circumstances in which the former is permissible even if the latter is never permissible.