Youth Ask About Birth Control
Contraception is a means of preventing the conception of new life, a baby. The only true contraceptives are sterilization and the barrier methods, such as condoms, diaphragms, cervical caps, foams, gels, creams. All other products, often grouped with contraceptives, are actually abortifacients.
Why are some contraceptives called abortifacients?
An abortifacient actually causes an abortion should the woman conceive during a particular cycle. Included in this group are the IUD, birth control pills, the morning-after-pill, Depo-Provera, and Norplant.
Please explain how abortifacients cause abortions.
At conception/fertilization a new life begins. During the following seven to fourteen days the new little person travels through the fallopian tubes of the mother and attaches to the wall of the mother’s uterus. There, the baby will obtain all of the nourishment that is needed to grow and flourish. This process is known as implantation. The abortifacients inflame the uterus making it hostile to the developing child. The child cannot implant, receives no nourishment, and dies. During the mother’s next period, the child is aborted.
How can a woman get pregnant if she is on the pill?
The pills used today contain a low dosage of estrogen. This allows the woman to ovulate during some monthly cycles. If she should ovulate during a particular cycle, and become pregnant, she would then abort the developing child during her period.
Is the pill harmful to women?
The pill is linked to breast cancer. Several major studies have shown the increased risk of breast cancer in women who took the pill for several years before their first term pregnancy. The increased risk of breast cancer ranges from 40% to 125%.(1) The risk is even higher for a young woman who is still developing and takes birth control pills, as in late teens or early twenties. In addition, there are risks to the cardiovascular system, high blood pressure, stroke, or heart valve problems. The pill has caused problems with the pancreas in some women, leading to diabetes, and it is linked to liver cancer.
What are some other side effects of the pill?
There are many side effects besides the ones mentioned above, such as abdominal cramps, possible infertility after coming off the pill, breast tenderness, weight gain, headaches, rash, vaginal itching and burning, nervousness, dizziness, depression, and loss of hair.
How can I tell a friend to stop using the pill without sounding judgmental?
Just giving her the facts would be a big help to her. This information can be found on the package insert that comes with the pill. She can read it for herself.
What is the Morning-After-Pill?
The morning after pill is a combination of two chemicals one of which is a form of estrogen. It must be taken within seventy-two hours after intercourse. If a woman is pregnant before she takes the morning-after-pill and for some reason does not abort the child, the package insert states that it may seriously harm the developing child. Since it is an abortifacient and prevents the implantation of the developing child in the uterus of the mother, it always causes serious harm, death.
What is Norplant?
Norplant is an abortifacient and consists of six small tubes which are inserted in a woman’s arm. These tubes contain chemicals that prevent implantation of the developing child. Norplant causes harm to women, also. Many women complain of headaches, general weakness, and pain in their arm. When they have asked to have the rods removed from their arms, most often serious scarring and even damage to tissue in their arm has resulted. The rods or tubes often migrate to other parts of the body and cannot be easily removed but cause additional health problems. More than 200 lawsuits have been brought against the manufacturer of Norplant.
What is Depo-Provera?
This drug is a synthetic form of progesterone. It is injected into the woman every three months. It is an abortifacient because the woman does continue to ovulate but should she become pregnant, the developing child cannot implant on the lining of the mother’s uterus. It has severe side effects for the woman and the developing child should the child not be aborted. The risk of breast cancer for a woman under the age of 35, increases to 129 percent. (2)
What is an intrauterine device (IUD)?
The IUD is a foreign body made of plastic, which is inserted into a woman’s uterus to prevent implantation. It is an abortifacient. The woman continues to ovulate normally but should she become pregnant, the developing child cannot implant on the lining of the uterus and is aborted. There are about 200 different IUDs and they have all caused harm to women in varying degrees, from heavy periods and pelvic infections to death.
Why is the Church against all birth control? I can understand about abortifacients, but what is wrong with contraceptives?
There is an important "why". God sees the right use of sex as something holy. When a man and woman marry, they are the ministers of the sacrament of Matrimony. The first gift a man gives his wife on their wedding day is God’s grace, because he is the minister of the sacrament. The first gift a woman gives her husband on their wedding day is God’s grace, because she is the minister of the sacrament.
The two become one sacramentally, forming a covenant with one another and God, but the covenant is not sealed until they share their love in the sexual union. Every time they share their love in the marital act (sexual union) they renew the covenant with one another and with God.
Marriage is the most perfect reflection of Christ’s love for the Church and the Church’s love for Christ. It is the most perfect reflection of God’s love. God’s love is permanent, faithful, and life giving; married love must be permanent (ruling out divorce), faithful (ruling out adultery), and open to life (ruling out contraceptives, sterilization, abortion). The condom falls into the last category. Using it, the husband and wife actively prevent the conception of a new life. They close themselves off from each other and from the possibility of a child.
Why is premarital sex always wrong?
Premarital sex is gravely sinful because it is a violation against another person - using another person's body. It offends God by abusing the gift of our sexuality by not using it as he wills. Pre-marital sex represents a lie - two unmarried people acting with their bodies as if they are totally committed, when in reality, without the marriage bond, they are not committed.
Pre-marital sex destroys the people living the lie and it destroys the true meaning of the sexual act. In the sexual act a man and woman are saying, "I give myself to you completely". In marriage, "I give myself to you completely" is a renewal of what they have already pledged to one another in their marriage vows. If the man and woman are not married, it is impossible to truly "give myself to you completely" because the person can leave whenever he/she wants, no matter what the consequences, even if the woman becomes pregnant.
When two people engage in premarital sex and lie to each other with their bodies, there are no vows, no commitment, no covenant with one another and God. Without the marriage covenant, two people are pretending to be totally committed lovers. This describes the pre-marital relationships so prevalent today.
A covenant secures family life for the birth of children and protection of spouses. Pre-marital sex offends the sanctity of marriage; couples fail to accept responsibility for each others' lives "to have and to hold…in sickness and in health…till death do us part;" babies who have the right to be conceived of committed love are born out of wedlock; boyfriends leave pregnant girlfriends; and couples never learn to faithfully love one another, which can only come from true commitment. Sex between married couples, as a reflection of God’s love, must always be permanent, faithful and open to life.
Are the condom and diaphragm sinful?
Yes, because they go against the will of God for the great gift of our sexuality. They turn man and woman in upon themselves and tend toward a selfish, self-centered gratification in the sexual union. Instead of a complete self-giving union between a man and woman, which enriches their whole life together, the couple places limits on their relationship and ignore God’s plan for children.
In addition, contrary to the statements of those who promote condom usage for "safe sex" condoms do not always prevent pregnancy. The failure rate for the condom with spermicide is 13% if used perfectly, that is, without breakage or slippage, both of which are very common. The rate of failure for the diaphragm resulting in pregnancy is 18% when used with a spermicide. When the condoms fail through breakage or leakage, they are no protection from such diseases as AIDS, gonorrhea and syphilis. Even under the best conditions, the condom does not protect from genital herpes and genital warts, which often cover the entire genital area.(3) The only safe sex is abstinence before marriage and fidelity after marriage.
Why is it that some Catholics use contraceptives, abortifacients, and other forms of artificial birth control when it is against the teaching of the Catholic Church?
Many Catholics have never been taught why the Church teaches what it teaches. For this reason, many have adapted themselves to our secular society.
Many Catholics grieve when they later realize the abortifacient nature of the pill and other chemicals. They suffer a loss over the children they may have aborted. This is why it is so important to share the truth about artificial birth control.
What do other religions say about artificial birth control?
Until 1930, all religions taught that birth control is evil. The Anglican Church voted at the Lambeth Conference during that year to allow artificial birth control in the case of extreme hardship. This opened the door to the contraceptive mentality that says that children are a burden. Before 1930 there is plenty of evidence that the leaders in all Protestant religions taught against birth control. The Bible And Birth Control is a book that details the teaching of many famous Protestant leaders. The author, Charles Provan, writes that he could not find one Protestant leader before the twentieth century who did not oppose birth control. Luther referred to those who practiced birth control as "swine".
What is the difference between Artificial Birth Control and Natural Family Planning?
In artificial birth control, the man and woman exercise their right to marital relations but they block through artificial means the natural end of their actions. They do not give themselves completely to one another in the gift of their love. They deprive their spouse of the most sacred and mysterious part of themselves, their fertility.
With natural birth regulation, the couple abstains during the fertile period of the woman and give themselves completely during infertile periods. In Natural Birth Regulation (Natural Family Planning) a couple follow God’s Will when with good reason they share their love in the marital act during the infertile period only. It is well to note that while most men are fertile at all times, women are fertile only for a short period each month. The results are the blessing of God on their life because they have included his will in this most important part of their lives together. The statistics speak for themselves because the divorce rate of this group of married couples that only utilize this form of birth regulation is less than 3% while it is more than 50% for the population as a whole.
What would be a "good reason" to use Natural Family Planning?
A good reason may be the desire to space the children in a family because of problems in the area of physical or emotional health, or finances, a serious genetic disease, or other serious reasons.
From the time of Pope Pius XI in 1930 to the present, all of the Popes of this century have taught in this regard, that serious reasons such as medical, economic or social factors might excuse husband and wife from sexual relations, except during infertile times for either a long or short period. In other words, they may limit sexual intercourse to the infertile time of a woman’s cycle, for a good reason.
I don’t understand what the difference is. If Natural Family Planning is used, the woman won’t become pregnant and if artificial birth control is used the woman won’t become pregnant. Why is one wrong?
We must go back to asking what is God’s will for the gift of sexuality. Natural Birth Regulation follows the nature of the woman’s body, the man and woman abstaining during her fertile time. Both husband and wife are involved in the decision. Through practicing this, they decide to cooperate with God in planning their family when with good reason they abstain from the sexual union during her fertile periods.
It is important to note that couples who practice NFP speak of a deeper love resulting from their periods of abstinence especially when they make this a time to show love in other ways, and, keeping God central to their marriage, they make it a time of prayer. This maintains the affection and attentiveness to one another which was part of their dating years.
How does the contraceptive mentality lead to an abortion mentality?
The contraceptive mentality looks upon fertility as something to be avoided or, in an extreme case, something that must be eliminated. When couples or, society as a whole, adopt this mentality, conception is looked upon as a failure to be rectified, rather than a human life to be received with love. In other words, babies are no longer welcomed and recognized as gifts from God.
Abortion becomes the "solution" to that "problem" that has arisen. While, we can not say that every couple that practices contraception will have an abortion, the contraceptive mentality leads to a lack of respect for life in any society that accepts contraception. This has proved to be true throughout history. Every society that has accepted contraception has gone on to legalize abortion.
Is contraception as bad as abortion?
In the Gospel of Life, Pope John Paul teaches: "Certainly, from the moral point of view contraception and abortion are specifically different evils. The former contradicts the full truth of the sexual act as the proper expression of conjugal love (sexual love), while the latter destroys the life of a human being. The former is opposed to the virtue of chastity in marriage, the latter is opposed to the virtue of justice and directly violates the divine commandment ‘You shall not kill’.
" It is true that in many cases contraception and even abortion are practiced under the pressure of real-life difficulties, which nevertheless can never exonerate from striving to observe God’s law fully. Still, in very many other instances such practices are rooted in a hedonistic mentality unwilling to accept responsibility in matters of sexuality, and they imply a self-centered concept of freedom, which regard procreation as an obstacle to personal fulfillment. The life which could result from a sexual encounter thus becomes an enemy to be avoided at all costs, and abortion becomes the only possible decisive response to failed contraception." (the contraceptive mentality) (4)
Endnotes
1. Chris Kahlenborn, M.D., Overview: Breast Cancer And The Pill, April 1999
2. Brian Clowes, Ph.D., Facts of Life. Front Royal, VA: Human Life International, 1997
3 Ibid.
4. Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Evangelium Vitae, March 25,1995
Suggested Additional Reading Recommended Reading
The Facts of Life. An Authoritative Guide to Life and Family Issues by Brian Clowes, PhD
Birth Control
