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Austin, Aug 13, 2008 / 09:15 pm (CNA).- Citing a desire to let their faith in God guide their sex lives and to trust Him in every aspect of their existence, some Protestants have become practitioners of Natural Family Planning (NFP). Eschewing contraceptives, some are now joining Catholics in fertility classes and returning to traditional Christian teaching.The Austin American-Statesman reports that the number of NFP practitioners who are Protestants is difficult to quantify. However, Rev. Amy Laura Hall, a Methodist minister and associate professor at Duke Divinity School, says there appears to be growing interest. She said that, as...

New York, NY (LifeNews.com) -- If there is any place in the nation women can get free or low-cost birth control, it's New York City. But a new report indicates the abortion rate in the nation's largest city is three times higher than the national average despite the easy access to birth control and contraception. While a survey from the Alan Guttmacher Institute, a part of Planned Parenthood, shows fewer than 20 percent of all pregnancies nationwide end in abortion, 72 pregnancies end in abortion in New York for every 100 births. http://www.lifenews.com/nat3624.html More than 250 abortions are done every...

Contraception and the Language of the Body — Part 3 of 6 July 31st, 2008 by Christopher West ·Print · ShareThis We continue our series [Part one, Part two] commemorating the 40th anniversary of Humanae Vitae. Pope Paul VI released this oh-so-controversial encyclical on July 25, 1968, re-affirming the constant teaching of the Church on the immorality of contraception. To this day it remains a “thorn in the side” of many. It was once a thorn in my side as well. John Paul II’s “theology of the body” helped remove that thorn and show me the glorious fragrance of the...

It’s not just about the filioque or the Immaculate Conception, folks. Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI have encouraged Catholics to reach out to Orthodox Christians, to respect them and learn their traditions. Catholics by and large have accepted that the Orthodox really are very close to Catholicism in many areas. But many would be surprised to learn that some Orthodox hierarchs (and Oriental Orthodox hierarchs) are soft, even permissive on the issue of abortion–soft like Anglicans.His Holiness, Patriarch Karekin I of Etchmiadzin of Armenia (Oriental Orthodox) who came on a pastoral visit to the US had this...

More than 50 dissident Catholic groups from around the world have written an open letter asking Pope Benedict XVI to lift the church's ban on birth control. Taking a half-page ad in the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, the groups said Friday that the Church's ban on artificial birth control has had "catastrophic effects," particularly in the fight against AIDS. The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the accusation was "clearly unfounded" and insisted the Church is active in combating AIDS. The groups published their appeal on the 40th anniversary of the 1968 encyclical "Humanae Vitae" ("On Human Life")...

...by Mary Eberstadt,  a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, is a great article in the August/September issue of First Things and is available online. I'll get you started: That Humanae Vitae and related Catholic teachings about sexual morality are laughingstocks in all the best places is not exactly news. Even in the benighted precincts of believers, where information from the outside world is known to travel exceedingly slowly, everybody grasps that this is one doctrine the world loves to hate. During Benedict XVI’s April visit to the United States, hardly a story in the secular press failed to mention...

Does Contraception Foster Love? — Part 2 of 6 July 22nd, 2008 by Christopher West We continue a series of reflections on the issue of contraception in light of the 40th anniversary of Humanae Vitae. When Pope Paul VI issued this document on July 25, 1968, it fell like a bomb. Many people wished the issue would just go away. It hasn’t. And it won’t. In fact, it can’t “go away.” This encyclical takes us to the very foundations of human life (humanae vitae).In the last column, we looked at how contraception has played a key role in the cultural...

Planned Parenthood's political action committee released a new TV ad today hitting presumptive Republican nominee John McCain's stand on birth control. The ad highlights a pregnant pause when McCain was asked last week about some insurers covering the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra, but not birth control measures. "I don't know enough about it to give you an informed answer," McCain, hand stroking his chin, finally answered in an interview that has made the rounds of the liberal blogosphere ever since.

Philadelphia has one of the most backward and incompetent city governments in America. It suffers from a combination of failed civic institutions, a deeply embedded racial paranoia that undermines law enforcement, and a local culture that has come to shrug at the urban chaos this produces. In 2006, the one-or-two-a-day-and a-dozen-on-weekends murder spree that earned "Killadelphia" its rap as an urban abattoir resulted in 406 people dead. It's clearly not all about poverty. Miami, America's poorest major city, saw 79 homicides in all of 2006. In March 2006, more Americans died violently on the streests of Philadelphia than in Iraq...

President of Human Life International writes to fellow priests about prophecies of Pope Paul VI on social effects of rampant artificial contraception News from the Trenches By Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer Pope Paul VI has been called a prophet for his intuitions expressed in the 1968 encyclical, Humanae Vitae, about what would happen to society if contraception ever became widely used. But a “prophecy” is much more than just a prediction: it is really a view of reality and an assessment of what happens when the right order of things is snubbed. All the Old Testament prophets told the...

Journey to the Truth May 23rd, 2008 by Anna Pier Day I argued with the priest — the strong-willed one — who sat opposite me in the confessional. For every argument I presented, though, his response was the same: a calm, understanding, but firm, “There are no exceptions to the Church’s teaching against contraception.”Truth be told, if the Church had been less wise and had made exceptions, our family situation might have qualified as one. A few months earlier, after the birth of our youngest son, I had suffered from an acute depression with accompanying suicidal thoughts and a brief...

'Might our religion be killing us?' That's what a Baptist minister was asking recently in an editorial in USA Today. Rev. Oliver "Buzz" Thomas writes: Be fruitful and multiply," says the book of Genesis, and Lord knows we have. To the tune of more than 300 million at home and more than 6 billion abroad. But as we go about the heavenly task of multiplying, a poignant question arises: Might our religion be killing us? Insert the deep dark foreboding music. We all remember the Aztecs. Some say their religion, with its penchant for violence and human sacrifice, played a...

(IsraelNN.com) Israel re-opened Gaza crossings Thursday for shipments of humanitarian aid after terrorist attacks forced a restriction of shipments on Wednesday. The Nahal Oz fuel depot also was re-opened, and 180 tons of cooking and 681,000 liters of fuel were transferred. More than 160 trucks moved through the Sufa and Karni crossings with medical supplies and medications, fruit, poultry, cleaning products, meat, juice, dairy products, sugar, garlic, nylon, fish, carrots, salt, soy sauce, meat preservatives, nylon for greenhouses, wheat and corn.

Fr. Thomas Euteneuer  Other Articles by Fr. Thomas EuteneuerPrinter Friendly Version   In Persona Christi: The Priest and Contraception March 24, 2008 In Persona Christi, the priest stands for the Bridegroom in ministering to His Bride, the Church. In bringing new life to the Bride in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, he acts in a husbanding role and as a father. He cultivates. The marriage bed is the altar of the domestic Church. Just as the priest brings new life spiritually (zoe) to the Bride on the altar, the husband brings new biological life (bios) to his wife on...

Wherever possible, Tina Casale switches to compact fluorescent light bulbs; she also recycles daily, rides in carpools or walks when she can, and, as a third-grade teacher, has made it a priority to ensure that global warming is a frequent topic in her science discussions. But in the eyes of some activists, Casale could be doing more to save the environment: Namely, tossing out her birth control pills. Birth control pills, like batteries and baby bottles, have become the latest item in American homes to become a focus of environmental and health concerns. As scientists debate the effects of synthetic...

Planned Parenthood of Idaho officials apologized Wednesday for what they called an employee's "serious mistake" in encouraging a donation aimed at aborting black babies. They also criticized The Advocate, a right-to-life student magazine at the University of California-Los Angeles, for trying to discredit Planned Parenthood employees in seven states in a series of tape-recorded phone calls last summer. The call to Idaho came in July to Autumn Kersey, vice president of development and marketing for Planned Parenthood of Idaho. On the recording provided by The Advocate, an actor portraying a donor said he wanted his money used to eliminate black...

A Challenging Truth, Part Two: The Day the Birth Control Died February 12, 2008 "Everyone does it, so what's the big deal?" Taking the pill, getting "fixed", getting a shot of Depo-Provera...there's a myriad of choices for contraception. The expectation in today's modern society is that everyone uses artificial birth control at some point in their lives, be they married or not. Right? Many years ago, I would have agreed with all of the above. I was not a rebellious Catholic, just an ignorant one. But the guilt of my ignorance rests on more shoulders than just mine. I was...

A Challenging Truth, Part Two: The Day the Birth Control Works February 9, 2008 How can something be both immense and minute at the same time, something upon which all of human history depends, yet fragile and almost non-existent to the eye? It is the union of an egg and sperm — an embryo. Such is God's way. He takes something smaller than a mustard seed and brings forth all of civilization. After creating everything in the universe single-handedly, He created us in his own image and bestowed upon us the power to become co-creators with Him. Working in union...

"Everyone does it, so what's the big deal?"  Taking the pill, getting "fixed", getting a shot of Depo-Provera...there's a myriad of choices for contraception.  The expectation in today's modern society is that everyone uses artificial birth control at some point in their lives, be they married or not.  Right?  Many years ago, I would have agreed with all of the above.  I was not a rebellious Catholic, just an ignorant one.  But the guilt of my ignorance rests on more shoulders than just mine.  I was surrounded by contraception Catholics who discussed their birth control as easily as they spoke...

How can something be both immense and minute at the same time, something upon which all of human history depends, yet fragile and almost non-existent to the eye?  It is the union of an egg and sperm — an embryo.  Such is God's way.  He takes something smaller than a mustard seed and brings forth all of civilization.  After creating everything in the universe single-handedly, He created us in his own image and bestowed upon us the power to become co-creators with Him.  Working in union with us, when the sperm unites with the egg, not only has a new...

Legislative leaders, voting along party lines on Thursday, rejected proposed legislation that would require parental consent for schools to give children 14 and under prescription drugs, including birth control pills. Republican Sen. Douglas Smith of Dover-Foxcroft, who sponsored the measure, denounced Democratic leaders for not allowing the issue to be considered this session. "This is a fundamental right we are talking about here," Smith said. "This is a parental right to control the prescription drugs their children are taking. The Democratic majority today felt that the state should have the right to intercede in that, and that is an unfortunate...

In both of my careers as a Catholic thinker—my former one as a professor, and my current one as a blogger—I have found it a real challenge to get across to people what is meant by saying that some acts are "intrinsically evil." The phrase from traditional moral theology so translated is intrinsece malum, which is often used in magisterial documents. As we contemplate the Holy Family this Christmas season, it occurs to me that misunderstanding about the concept of the intrinsically evil (IE) is especially rampant in the area of sexual morality. Today I want to contribute to a...

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For the first time in 35 years, the U.S. fertility rate has climbed high enough to sustain a stable population, solidifying the nation's unique status among industrialized countries. The overall fertility rate increased 2 percent between 2005 and 2006, nudging the average number of babies being born to each woman to 2.1, according to the latest federal statistics. That marks the first time since 1971 that the rate has reached a crucial benchmark of population growth: the ability of each generation to replace itself. "It's been quite a long time since we've had a rate this high," said Stephanie J....

Schoolgirls can get morning after pill wit.hout uttering a word by flashing 'modesty' cardSchoolgirls can now get the morning after pill by handing a request form to a pharmacy to avoid embarrassing conversations. In a pilot scheme being trialled in pharmacies in Weymouth, Dorset, girls under 18 can get the pill simply by filling in a small card, without speaking to staff or answering any awkward questions. It means teenagers don't have to undergo the "daunting prospect" of walking into a busy chemists and explain in front of strangers they have had unprotected sex. The request cards have been printed...

Britain's highest birth rates among migrants By Ben Leapman, Home Affairs Correspondent Last Updated: 1:11am GMT 09/12/2007 A baby boom among immigrant families is driving the population to a record high, government figures will show this week. The figures, from the Office for National Statistics, will reveal that Britain's highest birth rates are in the Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities, both predominantly Muslim. The birth rate among women born in Pakistan but living in the UK is three times higher than that among British-born women, the figures will show. Separate figures due this month will reveal whether Mohammed has overtaken Jack...

CHICAGO (AFP) - Women who use oral contraceptives are at increased risk for developing hardened arteries, a condition that can lead to heart attack or stroke, according to a study released Tuesday Belgian researchers found that women who had used the hormones were more likely to have plaques, or a buildup of fatty tissue, on their arteries than women who didn't use this form of birth control. Atherosclerosis, or furring of the arteries, typically occurs with age. Complications include heart attack or stroke, which occur when unstable pieces of plaque break off and block a blood vessel leading to the...

Health clinics in six Denver high schools should be allowed to dispense birth control and emergency contraceptive pills, according to a new report by a health task force. "This is a real controversial issue," said Paul Melinkovich, who directs Denver Health's school-based clinics. "But teenagers are sexually active, and teen pregnancy is one of the largest reasons for the dropout of girls from high schools." ......

The school board in Portland, Maine, has decided that a health clinic at King Middle School will dispense birth-control pills to students without informing their parents. It already dispenses condoms to students who typically range in age from 11 to 14. All that's required is that the students undergo a checkup and get some counseling. I don't know about you, but I would wring the neck of any so-called health care professional that gave my middle-schooler birth control without my knowledge or consent. Who does Dr. Quackers think he is deciding what's best for my child? Last time I checked,...

After King Middle School moves to offer birth control, the District Attorney says schools must report anyone under age 14 who's having sex. Portland's school-based health centers have not been reporting all illegal sexual activity involving minors as required by law, but they will from now on, city officials said Thursday. Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson questioned the health centers' reporting practices after the Portland School Committee decided last week to offer prescription birth control at the King Middle School health center. The King Student Health Center has offered comprehensive reproductive health care, including providing condoms and testing for...

America's left and right are once again at odds, this time over a plan at the King Middle School in Portland, Maine, to make birth control pills available without parental approval to girls as young as 11. The school committee voted 7 to 2 in favor of the plan last Wednesday. You know kids are having sex early these days when contraception pills could be marketed as Flintstone Chewables. One side asks: Is it moral to sanction early sexual activity? The reality, the other side counters, is that teenagers are sexually active and the burden of unwanted pregnancies is too...

When a faithless society delivers the message that pre-marital sex is okay (regardless if you "get caught"), and when parents -- either through word or action -- fail to convince their teens that sex outside of marriage is wrong, you get what we've got: a real mess. Remember a few years ago when Abercrombie & Fitch got themselves into hot water with a highly sexualized catalogue aimed at their young teen market? Parents raised a pretty big stink, and A&F seemed to get the message. In those days, it was just another news story to me. But now, with a...

Portland, Maine, found itself in the national spotlight on the morning of Oct. 17. The King Middle School was debating whether to provide birth control to sixth-graders without their parents' consent or knowledge — not just condoms, but even birth control pills or contraceptive patches. ABC's "Good Morning America" picked up the story, with anchor Diane Sawyer first professing shock at the young ages involved, but then echoing the proponents' justification: Children "are caught in the changing worlds of early puberty and sexual messages everywhere." That's the line that rings in the ear. ABC is addressing a social problem: How...

Not all parents at Portland, Maine’s King Middle School are outraged that school officials are setting up health clinics that will provide contraceptives to children as young as 11. Carol Schiller is reportedly elated. She has had a son and a daughter graduate from King, and says those who find it shocking that 11-year-olds have sex should “get over it.” OK. I’m over it. I know 11-year-olds have sex. My wife and I run a drug/alcohol-prevention group for teens, and the teens are very honest with us about what they do. We are well past the point of finding just...

CNN’s Jack Cafferty... disdainfully criticized the appointment of a birth control skeptic to head a "family planning" agency at the Department of Health and Human Services by President Bush. "The question this hour is -- how much does it matter if the Bush Administration's appointee to head family planning programs has -- (LAUGHS) has been critical of birth control? This stuff is right out of ‘The Twilight Zone.'" Cafferty’s comments came in response to the appointment of Susan Orr to the post in HHS....Cafferty... was so "taken aback" by this appointment that he read the introductory remark twice.... JACK CAFFERTY:...

PORTLAND, Me., Oct. 17 — The Portland school board on Wednesday approved a measure allowing middle-school students to gain access to prescription birth control medications without notifying parents. The proposal, from the Portland Division of Public Health, calls for the independently operated health care center at King Middle School to provide a variety of services to students, including immunizations and physical checkups in addition to birth-control medications and counseling for sexually transmitted diseases, said Lisa Belanger, an administrator for Portland’s student health centers...

My head is exploding with confusion, perhaps there is a nuanced liberal lurking on FR that can explain this to me. Up in the great state of Maine, the Portland school district just approved birth control patches / hormones for 11 year old girls without parental consent. There is also unlimited abortion available at any age. Yet at the same time they arrest 16 and 17 year old guys for DOING IT with 12 year old girls. Well if you practially encourage 12 year old girls to DO IT then why arrest the 17 year old guy who is merely...

Damon Hadley must be the most confused 17-year-old in America. Damon and his 15-year-old girlfriend - who attend the same high school in Weare, N.H. - were recently caught cutting first period in order to hold their own impromptu biology lab on a neighbor’s sofa. When the girl’s dad found out, he tracked Damon down to issue his own grade on the young man’s lab work. One hospital trip and several stitches later, Damon had gotten the message, the father had been charged with simple assault and the girl was transferred to another school. All’s well that end’s well, right?...

This is almost as bad as requiring kids to attend an assembly, and forcing them to sign a contract that they won't tell their parents about it. Portland Press Herald: Students who have parental permission to be treated at King Middle School's health center would be able to get birth control prescriptions under a proposal that the Portland School Committee will consider Wednesday. Although students must have written parental permission to be treated at Portland's school-based health centers, state law allows them to seek confidential health care and to decide whether to inform their parents about the services they receive....

London, England (LifeNews.com) -- Members of the British parliament wants to add an amendment to an abortion bill the legislative body will debate next month as the nation marks 40 years of legalized abortion. Labour Party MPs Claire Curtis-Thomas and Geraldine Smith say they want the abortion bill amended to tell women of the abortion-breast cancer link. Their bill follows on the heels of new research showing the number of breast cancer cases in England will skyrocket because of the high number of abortions in the European nation. The bill would focus on more research into the link between abortion...

It’s been a few weeks since September 12th, so if your early-pregnancy test colors positive, go claim your car, fridge or computer. Russia ’s imploding population has birthed schemes to nudge couples to conceive. September 12th was proclaimed the Day of Conception in the Ulyanovsk region of Russia . Pairs who “give birth to a patriot” nine months later on June 12th, Russia Day, win cash, cars, and other goodies. Prizes to procreate - how grim. One would think making babies would be reward enough. But Russia’s population dearth reflects negative 21st Century attitudes toward children. Between poverty, immorality, avarice...

October 1, 2007 - 10:25am WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court on Monday declined to enter a church-state dispute over whether some religious organizations can be forced to pay for workers' birth-control health insurance benefits, a growing trend in the states. The court let stand a New York court ruling upholding a state law that forces religious-based social service agencies to subsidize contraceptives as part of prescription drug coverage they offer employees. Catholic Charities and other religious groups argued New York's law violates their First Amendment right to practice their religion because it forces them to violate religious teachings that...

From The Times September 12, 2007 Taking the Pill cuts the risk of cancer Nigel Hawkes, Health Editor Pill plus HRT may bring cancer risk | Decade of Pill use doubles risk of cervical cancer Taking the Pill reduces the risks of a woman getting cancer later in life, according to one of the largest studies ever undertaken. The conclusion will reassure millions of women who took the Pill 30 or 40 years ago and are now of an age when the risks are growing. The study found that overall cancer risk was up to 12 per cent lower...

by Steven ErteltLifeNews.com EditorAugust 31, 2007Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Rudy Giuliani may be the only pro-abortion candidate on the Republican side of the presidential contest, but that doesn't mean he has the support of the nation's most prominent abortion business. A Planned Parenthood official says she doesn't necessary support the former New York City mayor.Giuliani's pro-abortion position is a stark contrast to the rest of the Republican field, which may be split on embryonic stem cell research but pretty solidly opposes abortion.Sarah Stoesz, President of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, told the pro-abortion Reality Check web site that she is...

by Steven ErteltLifeNews.com EditorAugust 28, 2007Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A new poll of evangelical Christians finds that abstinence is still the preferred method of birth control, despite abortion advocates pushing newer methods such as the morning after pill. Some 61 percent said abstaining from sex before marriage and fidelity in marriage is the best approach.ChristiaNet.com, a large Christian Internet portal, conducted the survey randomly among its 1,200 of it millions of members.Of the members who favored abstinence, they responded that they believed it was acceptable to use birth control as a means for family planning. Others that answered the poll...

Dominican Republic Protest Against Attempt to Legalize Abortion Although abortion currently illegal in island nation, law is rarely enforced By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman SANTO DOMINGO, August 24, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) -- Citizens of the Dominican Republic protested both inside and outside of the country's Chamber of Deputies (lower house of congress) against an attempt to legalize "therapeutic abortion" in the island nation last Wednesday. Protesters outside of the building held signs that included statements such as, "Yes to life, no to abortion", "We are in favor of life", and "Abortion is murder". "If the legalization of abortion is approved, the Dominican...

A group of lay Catholics are promoting natural family planning methods among the Philippine Muslim community to control the rising population without going against the beliefs held by the two religions. The group began its campaign in Maguindanao, southern Mindanao province, where the percentage of Muslims reaches 90 percent.     From there, the group hopes to carry its work to the rest of the country to tackle the problem of birth control without relying on artificial methods, AsiaNews reported Thursday.     The well known and much appreciated method, known as the "Billings ovulation method," is based on analysis of the female ovulation...

Online Video: Noted Endocrinologist Dispels the Myth of Health Benefits of the Pill - Part 2 By Elizabeth O'BrienOTTAWA, August 9, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The lecture of noted endocrinologist Dr. Maria Kraw, speaking at the Humanae Vitae Conference "A New Beginning" last year, described the serious medical risks involved in taking hormonal birth control. It also debunked the common myths of the so-called "health benefits" of the pill. She began by noting that one of the major risks of taking hormonal contraceptives is an increased risk of cancer. Looking at 54 studies of the pill, she observed that researchers found...

Growing up Catholic, I knew theologically that my church forbade abortion and contraception. Although the church's stand on abortion was self-evident in my opinion, I didn't really understand why she took such a hard line on contraception until I found myself judging annulment cases on a Catholic marriage tribunal. With few exceptions, I could trace every marital breakdown to the couple saying "no" to the fertility with which God had blessed them. Shocked, I began to research the history of abortion and contraception in my spare time. I was interested, both as a canon lawyer and a pro-family journalist, in...

Dawn Eden, call your office: For years, drug companies sold birth-control pills and other contraceptives to university health services at a big discount. This has served as an entree to young consumers for the drug companies, and a profit center for the schools, which sell them to students at a moderate markup. Students pay perhaps $15 a month for contraceptives that otherwise can retail for $50 or more. But colleges and universities say the drug companies have stopped offering the discounts, and are now charging the schools much more. The change has an unlikely origin: the Deficit Reduction Act signed...