Replies

"Ok. But I still want to know, where does the idea birth control is wrong come from. What Biblical foundation? It wasn't pulled out of the sky."

That is very true. The Biblical basis for belief against unnatural means of family planning comes from Genesis 38:6-10. In that passage, Onan withdrew from Tamar in order to avoid the possibility of impregnating her. From verse 10, "And what he did was displeasing in the sight of the Lord, and He slew him also." Since Onan's father also broke the Law of the Levirate (in a different way), but was not killed by the Lord, it was seen that Onan's act of withdrawal was what was displeasing to God.

And the post about how, historically, all Christian denominations were against artificial birth control is very correct. When the Church of England decided, in 1930, to allow birth control in "hardship cases," this decision was denounced vehemently by every other denomination. However unfortunately, somewhere along the line the injunction against artifical family planning got turned into a "Catholic" issue, which it never was.

Also, many forms of birth control used today actually act as abortifacients. Your doctor doesn't tell you that when he prescribes you progesterone-based forms of contraception or an IUD.

As far as Catholic teaching is concerned, the only form of acceptable family planning is so-called Natural Family Planning, which uses only a couple's awareness of a woman's fertility. It is also been extensively scientifically tested and proven to be 98.5% effective when used properly, making it comparable to artificial means), and so unreliability can't be cited against it. However, intention is equally as important as method. NFP should be used only if a couple is unable for practical reasons to have children at a certain time (for example, due to health concerns). If a couple uses NFP with the intention of completely avoiding childbearing and never having a woman become pregnant, then it is just as sinful as using artificial contraception. Both means and intention matter.

It's not hard to find Catholics that don't pick and choose what values are convenient for them to follow. My husband and I practice NFP now, as we don't feel we could adequately care for children until after I am out of medical school and he is out of the military and not constantly deployed. It truly does work, and it's really not difficult at all once you learn your body's cues.

Now, since I know that Catholic-bashing is very fashionable for many on this forum (I am not saying specifically by the poster to whom this message responds, but in general), I'll be logging off after I post this message, since I post very infrequently. Anyone who chooses to flame will have to find another Catholic to target.