Can any Catholic give me a cogent defense of the Church’s stance against contraception and birth control?

Question

The Catholic Church teaches, at least from my understanding (I could be wrong), that the only acceptable form of birth control is to plan around the woman’s natural cycles. Why is this method of preventing pregnancy any more morally acceptable than using physical contraception such as condoms, or chemical means to prevent pregnancy, such as the birth control pill? If the Church’s family planning strategy works towards the same ends as the “secular” way of pregnancy prevention does, why is the Catholic Church quibbling over such trivialities of how one prevents pregnancies? I never understood this. It would be like me saying that murdering someone with a gun is wrong, but murdering someone with a knife is okay. It is still murder, and the means by which this act is committed doesn’t change the fact that it is immoral. So why are the means so important with respect to pregnancy prevention? Either birth control, in any form, whether through family planning, contraception, or pill, is all morally wrong, or they are all equally morally acceptable.

Answer 1

There are two purposes for s*x - unitive and procreative.  s*x is the means by which a married couple become closer emotionally, physically, and spiritually.  It is also the means of bring new life into the world.  Artificial birth control interferes with one of the purposes of s*x.

Natural family planning does not prevent pregnancy during fertile times of the month.  Natural family planning involves abstaining from s*x during times of the month in which the woman might become pregnant.  

Artificial birth control prevents pregnancy during the fertile time of the month while allowing a couple to have s*x.  

Answer 2

I think that with the "planning around cycles" thing there's still margin for error, so God might still allow the couple to have a child and so forth, therefore it's more of a 50/50 chance. Leave it to God's will....

That's personal logic, I can't answer for sure. I'm a catholic but not a good one unfortunately. But I agree, in essence any form of contraception is wrong or right.

Answer 3

Birth control pills often stop a fertilized egg from attaching to the mother's uterus.  Thus, they lead to unintended abortions.

God bless!

Dave

Answer 4

Because unlike man made forms, this way leaves you completely open to life.  Also it does not turn the act of marital love and intimacy into merely satisfying the lusts and passions.

Answer 5

Chemical means of birth control often cause abortions, so they are ruled out.

The other types of artificial birth control separate the unitive and the procreative aspects of the marriage, so are not in keeping with the result to which matrimony is ordered.

Bottom line: The Church is a lot smarter about these things than most people think.

http://douglawrence.wordpress.com/

Answer 6

What's the difference?

Fertility awareness can be used to achieve or avoid pregnancy. Artificial contraception is only to be used to avoid pregnancy.

Fertility awareness is 100% healthy for women because it does not add any chemicals to a woman's body.  Hormonal forms of artificial contraception have potentially serious health risks, including cardiovascular disease, deadly blood clots, liver problems, and some forms of cancer. (The manufacturer's freely admit this -- it's on the insert in the packaging and on their web sites.)

Furthermore, women can use fertility awareness to detect ovarian and cervical cancers in their very earliest stages, when treatment is most effective. No form of contraception can be used to detect cancer.

Fertility awareness requires the couple to practice self-control (a fruit of the Holy Spirit) and self-denial, which is following in Christ's footsteps. Contraception allows a couple to be self-indulgent with no need to practice either self-control or self-denial.

Fertility awareness does not cause the death of any embryo that is formed unintentionally. Hormonal forms of contraception DO cause the deaths of these embryos by preventing implantation (the mnfctr's freely admit this).

Fertility awareness accepts the fact that God designed s*x as the easiest and most pleasurable way to make a baby, recognizing that God's design is 'perfect.' Contraception seeks to take the pleasurable part and reject the baby-making part, thereby rejecting God's design as 'imperfect.'

Fertility awareness adds a "honeymoon" period each month to a married couple's sexual relationship when they have a grave enough reason to avoid pregnancy. After a 3-7 day period of well, let's call it extended foreplay, they come together with increased passion. Contraception turns s*x into a "whenever I want it" thing that takes the bloom off, just like having ice cream every day makes it less exciting to eat ice cream.

Your "murder with a knife...murder with a gun" analogy is off. Couples using contraception are HAVING s*x during ovulation but thwarting the conception that would occur (or messing with the woman's body and making it not ovulate). Couples using fertility awareness are NOT having s*x during ovulation.

It's the difference between doing something or not doing something...such as the difference between a person dying because you've murdered him and a person dying even though you didn't murder him.  

Answer 7

I guess the Vatican receives heavy sponsorship from Monsanto .... so it's in their interest to promote an overpopulated world whereby Monsanto can almost legitimize its creation of transgenic plants (to ostensibly feed this overpopulated planet) that have negative impacts like cutting down biodiversity

i dunno, that's as good a theory as any lol

Answer 8

all these questions are answered excellently in the book "the Good News About s*x and Marriage" by Christopher West (based on the work of Pope John Paul II- "The Theology of the Body")

You'd actually think this question is straight out of that book.

If you genuinely want to learn the answer I hope you pick up this book at some point in your life, sooner rather than later.

Answer 9

I will attempt to give you a answer that hopefully you will understand.But as a Catholic any form of birth control where as any artificial method is used such as condoms,birth control pill and other unnatural form's it is considered equal to abortion. Where as when the womans cycle is used to prevent procreation it is natural as there was a very slight chance of procreation being completed thus there was no start of life prevented. You may not be aware of this but before 1930 all major Christian Churches held the same teaching as the Catholic Church on birth control and today only the Catholic Church has refused to Change it's teaching on it. Just as the Catholic Church has never Changed it's teaching's on the Priest Hood. One last answer to you we do not consider our belief as quibbling and we warned the world in the beginning that birth controll by the pill and other means would begat Abortion and higher divorce rates and even more sexual sins such as living together with out marriage.Accept it or not that is what allowing one sin can lead to.

Answer 10

The Ends don't Justify the Means.

Answer 11

I guess the rational behind Catholic rejection of modern birth control has something to do with their undermentioned attitude  that "s*x for pleasure is sinful."  

Ask Pope Stupid the Billionth what he does...  If the old foggy thinks your bedroom habits are his business, then his bedroom habits ought to be yours (... but remember, you' best be prepared for something kinky involving choir boys.)

Answer 12

I'd be hard-pressed to make a more cogent argument than Prof. Janet Smith.  The first link below is to the text of her talk about contraception.  The second is a link to "Humanae Vitae", the papal encyclical which also details the Church's teaching on this and the reasoning for it.

It may interest you to know that until the mid-20th century ALL Christian churches and denominations were against artificial contraception.  The Catholic Church is now the only one which still holds that position.

Answer 13

I'm not sure if this is as cogent and compelling an argument as you would like, but NFP is different from contraceptive s*x because it involves periodic abstinence during the fertile periods. Couples who use NFP do not have s*x at all during that fertile time, unlike those who use contraception during that brief window of fertility. We don't think it's unnatural or wrong to not have s*x if you don't want a child.

To abstain from s*x is not placing a barrier on the sexual act to inhibit life from possibly taking hold, because there is no s*x going on at all.

I hope that made some sense. I'm not very good at putting my thoughts into words.

Answer 14

I gave up Catholicism at a young age, so I can't guarantee the accuracy of this, but I believe it's more stemming from the belief system of the church regarding s*x in general. It's only begrudgingly that they allow for the family planning method, because it is more concerned with timing than complete prevention. Their view is that s*x is for reproduction, and engaging in it with the intention of completely avoiding pregnancy doesn't sit well with this.

Answer 15

the lord doesn't address birth control. this is up to the husband and wife to decide not some church

Answer 16

I can explain the position, with the caveat that I do not agree with the position.  The Catholic Church (CC) believes that preventing implantation of an embryo is a sin - hence why the pill, IUD, etc are bad.  The CC also believes that restricting sperm from coming into contact with the egg - using a condom - is wrong because it goes against the idea of just having s*x to make babies.  However, family planning is allowed because you are not preventing implantation (like the pill, etc) and the sperm has the ability to come in contact with the egg.  The whole idea is, if God wants to give you a child then He still can if you use the FPM but if you use condoms, etc then he cannot give you a child because those are man-made barriers against fertility.  

Note:  I really disagree with this position but fully comprehend why a religious organization that follows the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas would find this to be an acceptable position.