Abortifacient contraception
Most Christians believe life begins at conception. Few of us have been told what that belief means for the contraceptives in ordinary use in our own congregations. This section gathers the whole case in one place, with every claim traced to a licensed product document, a court judgment or an official source you can check yourself.
DRAFT — this material awaits final review before launch.
If you have never heard this before
Start with the short explainer. It sets out how the word "conception" was redefined in 1965, what the third mechanism of the hormonal methods is, and where UK law places the line.
What certain contraceptives can do →
This is written to inform, not to accuse. Most of us were never told these things. If you did not know, then you did not know.
Whether eventual control of implantation can be reserved the social advantage of being considered to prevent conception rather than to destroy an established pregnancy could depend upon something so simple as a prudent habit of speech.
The open letter
On the Sanctity of Life, Abortifacient Contraception, and the Faithful Care of Christ's Flock — written to pastors, elders and fellow labourers by men who once shared the same ignorance, and sourced throughout with thirty-two numbered references.
Read it and persuaded? There is a tool tosend it to your own pastor or elders, with a short covering note and a link that greets your church by name.
The appendices
Eight standalone treatises carry the letter's full case. Each one is meant to stand on its own, and each carries its own sources.
- The Biblical Case in Full
The scriptural case that the child conceived is a human being whom God defends — set out in full, with every text weighed.
- The Witness of the Church
What the church taught, East and West, for nineteen centuries — and where, and how recently, it broke.
- Marriage, Children, and the Calling of Parents
The fuller vision of marriage, children, and parenthood in which the protection of the conceived child grows.
- Why This Sounds Foreign to Christian Ears
If this was ordinary Christian teaching within living memory, why does it now sound strange? Five reasons, with the history.
- Abortion in the United Kingdom
The national situation stated plainly from official figures — the scale, the cumulative total, the direction of the law — and what such a land is before God.
- The Responsibility of Shepherds
Why this series comes to pastors and elders first: the watchman, the whole counsel of God, the stricter judgment — and the assurance that upholds the shepherd.
- The Case Concerning IVF
If the conceived child is a human being under God’s protection, that is true in the laboratory too — the case concerning IVF, made in full and with tenderness.
- Answers to Common Objections
Every objection we have met, stated in its strongest form and answered in full.
The tract
A short tract for handing to a friend or leaving on a literature table — the plain version of each point, with the full case and the sources under it.
The leaflet
The Third Mechanism is a trifold leaflet built from the same case: an A4 sheet you can print double-sided, fold in three and leave on a literature table or hand to a friend. It reads on a phone too — the digital edition carries every word as real text, with the references linked.
Download or print
Print editions of the same text served on this site. Every download is a plain PDF — nothing is tracked, and no details are asked for.
The letter
A Letter to Church Leaders
The open letter itself, addressed to pastors and elders: what the common hormonal methods are licensed to do, in the manufacturers' own words, and what the church owes the couples in its care. Thirty-two numbered references.
Supporting treatises
The Appendices (A to H)
The eight standalone treatises that carry the letter's full case: the biblical argument, the witness of the church, marriage and parenthood, why this sounds foreign, UK law and practice, the charge to shepherds, IVF, and every common objection answered.
The tract
Do You Know What It Does?
A short tract for handing to a friend or leaving on a literature table: each section's plain short version, printed from the same text as the web page. The full case and the sources behind each point stay on the site and in the appendices.
Trifold leaflet
The Third Mechanism
An A4 trifold to print, fold and hand on: what the pill and the coil are licensed to do in that first week, the law of the parapet, and why the earliest stage of a human life is the one Christ Himself took up. Print double-sided on the short edge and fold in three.
If this raises something for you
Some readers will finish this and realise they have been using a method they would not have chosen. There is no accusation in this material and no penance to perform. If you want to talk to someone, or you are pregnant and frightened,practical and confidential help is here.
For elders and pastors
The letter is written to be handed to a church leader. Thechurch toolkit has the rest of what a congregation needs. The freecourse on the letter works through it lesson by lesson, and each appendix is a short article inthe Learning Hub.