by Father Jim Whalen, Priests for Life Newsletter 2007, issue 1
Contraception is clearly defined in Pope Paul VI's encyclical Humanae Vitae: "Every action, which, whether in anticipation of the conjugal act, or in its accomplishment, or in the development of its natural consequences, proposes, whether as an end or as a means, to render procreation impossible" (HY. #14).
Contraceptive love is a selfish action, seeking self-pleasure, an incomplete self-giving that prevents conception. It is an act of the will against the natural fertility of sex, a violation of the meaning of marital love. The contraceptive act is any act of intercourse that separates or opposes the procreative and unitive goods of marital sex.
Real love for the Christian is found in marital love. It is characterized by self-sacrificing, a mutual gift of self to another, a gift of the whole of life which by nature is ordered to the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring. 'The unitive and procreative elements of marriage, the two dimensions of conjugal union, must not be separated for that would damage the deepest truth of the conjugal act itself' (Letter to Families, 1994, Pope John Paul II, #12). Real love for the Christian is free, total, faithful, and fruitful. Real love for a Christian is free, for it is given from the heart, with nothing expected in return. Real love for a Christian is total, an entire giving of oneself to another person, a complete gift of the whole self - the whole being. Real love for a Christian is faithful, for it looks to the future and is committed, built on a firm foundation, a sacramental covenant between a man and a woman, and God. Real love for a Christian is fruitful, promoting the mutual well-being and salvation of the other and participates in the creation of new life. Real love for a Christian respects natural law and the law of the Creator.
We are reminded by our Bishops about rejecting contraceptive love and accepting real love by living the truth of human life: "Any intentional interference with the procreative nature of intercourse necessarily involves spouses withholding themselves from each other and from God who is their partner is sacramental love. In effect, they steal something infinitely precious - themselves - from each other and from their Creator" (Of Human Life: A Pastoral Letter to the People of God ... on the Truth and Meaning of Married Love, Archbishop Charles Chaput, Denver, July 22, 1998). "The ban on contraception is a Divine Law which the Church cannot change anymore than it can change the Law of God forbidding murder. Because artificial contraception is intrinsically evil, it may never be practiced for any reason, no matter how good and urgent. A good end never justifies the use of an evil means" (Pastoral Letter: The Issue of Artificial Contraception, Bishop Glennon Flavin, Lincoln, October II, 1991). "In contraceptive intercourse the married couple is saying: "We know that our love for each other can create a new life. We do not want this new life at this time. Therefore, we will, by a directly willed positive act, destroy that creative part of our love. We do not love our fertility at this time. Thus we sterilize our love" (Trust the Truth, Symposium, Pope John Paul IT Centre, Massachusetts, Archbishop John Myers, Newark, 1991).
In our present culture of death society, many pro-life organizations are trying faithfully to defend and protect the unborn child and have focused primarily on the issue of abortion, leaving the issue of contraception on the back burner or even refusing to treat it at any level. Many think that closing abortion clinics will solve the problem when in reality this step is only part of the solution. Many have failed to see the connection between contraception and abortion and continue to ignore or deal with contraception in spite of the facts. Repeat abortions provide evidence that abortion has become for some a backup contraception (in 1994 - 1995 nearly half (45%) of women obtaining abortions in the U.S. had previously aborted one or more times" (Family Planning Perspectives, Allan Guttmacher Institute, 23:75, 1991, 1996). Pope John Paul II explains: "The close connection which exists in mentality between the practice of contraception and that of abortion, is being demonstrated in an alarming way by the development of chemical products, intra-uterine devices and vaccines, which distributed with the same ease as contraceptives, really act as abortifacients in the very early stages, in the development of the life of the new human being" (Evangelium Vitae, 1995, pp. 23-24).
The fact is that many still continue to choose contraceptive love but have switched from using surgical abortion as a form of birth control as a last resort to chemical abortion or abortifacients. In reality more have chosen to use new developed chemical products, emergency-contraceptive drugs, and vaccines that act as early abortifacients. The consequences are clear: Every form of chemical birth control has the power to cause early abortions. This applies to every form of "the Pill", to implants such as Norplant and injections such as Depo-Provera" (Kipley, John & Sheila, The Art of Natural Family Planning, Couple to Couple League, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1996, p.9).
The tragic fact is that Catholics out-contracept the general population. The fact is that between 75% and 80% of Catholic women practice contraception, and choose contraceptive love, instead of real love (Christian marital love). In the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth, U.S., conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, the percentage of Catholic women (ages 15-44) who were using some form of contraception was 70% versus a 64% rate for women in the general population. The most common form of contraception among Catholic Women in 1988 was oral contraception (the Pill). In 1995, the most frequent form of contraception was sterilization. Forty percent of Catholic respondents reported the use of sterilization. This represents 4.8 million Catholic women aged 15-44. The rate of sterilization among Catholics doubled from 1988 to 1995. Only 3% of Catholic women using a method of birth regulation use Natural Family Planning - about 300-400 thousand women (Richard Fehring, DNSc, RN, & Andre Matovina Schlidt, BSN, RN, Trends in Contraceptive Use among Catholics in the U.S., Linacre Quarterly, 68, (2), 170-185). The decision of the leading pro-life groups in the U.S. at a conference on Contraception is not the Answer, Chicago, September, 2006, to direct a new concerted attack on contraception is a landmark. Contraception is deception. It is a core issue that must be taught by all pro-life organizations. Not doing so is ignoring our responsibility to defend and respect life at all stages. There is no room for Contraception in the life of a faithful Catholic or Christian. We will not solve the problem of abortion unless we deal with the issue of contraception! Abstinence and chastity is the way to take aim at contraception. Speak and live the whole truth and faithfully following Jesus is the answer .•