Wouldn’t it be nice if women found themselves in a tight situation (newly pregnant, unable to take care of a child, or perhaps uninterested in having children at the moment) and could literally think their way out of a pregnancy?  I’m not talking about praying, hoping, or wishing on a star – rather, I’m talking about the mental ability to terminate an unwanted pregnancy without the help of doctors, nurses, or any other kind of medical practioners.

Well, believe it or not, there are certain mammals such as deer-mice, meadow voles, collared lemmings, and even lions that can do a little trick called the Bruce Effect (first discovered in 1959 by Hilda M. Bruce).  In mice, pregnancy can only be terminated prior to embryo implantation, but some species have the ability to interrupt a late-term pregnancy.  This is how it works…

A female rodent has sex with a male.  Shortly after, that same female is introduced to a new male.  Post-intercourse choosiness comes into play, the embryo is “spontaneously” aborted, and the female mates with the new male.

The Bruce Effect has not been found in humans (the closest thing to this tendency is the Whitten Effect).  So, this means that we all must be extra careful when engaging in sexual intercourse – no glove, no love! I think we can all agree that we DO NOT want little Richard Averys running around in diapers anytime soon.  That’d be my worst nightmare realized.

Yours truly,
Scarlett Stone