So here’s my response to yesterday’s ethical dilemma but here’s the heart of my response…(slightly edited version)

A nice easy question for me. We went through the same issue not long after we were married and so we spent quite some time looking into it. I talked with a few Christian doctors and got their opinion and I was pointed in the direction of the work by Professor John Guillebaud, who is a leading expert on the subject and, helpfully, also a believer.

In the end, because there was no medical clarity on the issue from Christian doctors about when they thought life began, we went for what we considered the safest option. It seems that there are several methods of contraception which are fully effective pre-fertilisation (we use cerazette) so I think they can be safely used without worry. I think not only are the chances incredibly small that something post-fertilisation would happen if used responsibly and having done all we can, to trust God with the rest. I don’t think we are at risk of aborting and so we’re ethically and theologically happy with our choice of contraception. But we did have to switch it because the first one we were on didn’t offer that same confidence and the risks of it acting post-fertilisation was much higher.

As to when life begins, if I could give the definitive answer on that, I’d be a very famous man. Personally I think its probably at fertilisation, it seems to make the most sense which is why we switched type of pill. Although I think currently medical science makes a better argument for life beginning at implantation, science changes and new discoveries are being formed, which is why I think the first and earliest option is the safest.”

I referred her to this article by Professor John Guillebaud writing in the Christian Medical Journal