Question About Birth Control

[johnnys4life]

I have a question for you Catholic believers out there. First off I hope no one is offended at me asking this as I am not a Catholic, but I am a believer (in Christ and the Bible) and a curious person. Recently my research has lead me to conclude that birth control is definately against God and is evil. I am absolutely NOT considering using it again. My main thing is not to go against God and especially now that I know how much money birth control companies give to abortion clinics, I am totally opposed to using contraceptives of any kind.
This frightens me because I am a young married person (23 years old) with one child already who was concieved while using the calendar method. Although I am not about to tell my husband I will never sleep with him again, without birth control I'm afraid we will have TONS of kids. In all my life I never expected or desired to have TONS of babies. Though I love my daughter to bits, I had such a scary and awful time giving birth to her I sometimes think I Never want to have another child again. Besides that we are not exactly filthy rich and even if we could withstand the emotional stress, I really don't know how we'd ever manage to afford 12 or 15 kids.

So here is my question and I hope someone can help me here: How can someone avoid having TONS of babies without using birth control or going against God's rules for married people? I don't think it's possible, and if it isn't, should a person just be resigned to having TONS of kids and try to be happy and hope God will take care of them? I am open to all opinions here. Thanks.

 

[Scott1]

johnnys4life,

Thank you for your questions.....

Please refer to this link for a detailed thread about birth control:

http://www.religiousforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=678

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to private message me or post them here in the Catholic section.

Maybe this quote from the thread will direct you closer to your example:

"The Church teaches very clearly that contraception is evil. The Catechism, quoting Humanae Vitae, states, “‘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’ is intrinsically evil” (CCC 2370). The Church is also clear that “one may never do evil so that good may result from it” (CCC 1789). Therefore, contraception, including the pill, is not an option.

So what options does your friend’s cousin have? With “about 10 kids” already and health hazards associated with pregnancy, it sounds to me as though she has just reason to practice Natural Family Planning (NFP) (which is different than the rhythm method). Practiced correctly NFP is over 99% effective.
If she simply cannot accept any risk of pregnancy then she must abstain altogether."
__________________
Jim Blackburn
Catholic Answers Apologist
www.catholic.com

Welcome to the forums, I hope that you will continue to post here after your question is answered!

God bless,
Scott

 

[johnnys4life]

SOGFPP, thank you for your reply. I did read all of that thread and besides it giving me a major headache I did find out some things I didn't know. A lot of the Catholic churches views on procreation do make a bit of sense to me. Mostly I have been a dedicated protestant for 5 years, and a not so dedicated one for even longer, and I have never found answers to the issue of morality of birth control within those churches. That bothers me because in my thinking and from some research I've done, birth control today cheapens sex and the value of human life.
One thing I did want to say because I don't believe it was directly adressed, is that perhaps the major difference between birth control and temporary abstinence in a marriage is that abstinence doesn't allow you to actually have relations with the intention of it not resulting in children (thereby cheapening it's value in my opinion).

The Bible says: "The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come togethor again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self control." 1 Corinthians 7:3-5


I also think the link to NFP may be helpful as I don't think I would've gotten pregnant if I had been a little more diligent and informed about it. Ah well it was God's will I did get preg when I did because my daughter was meant to be here, and so it's all about timing, and yet I'm glad I know now what I didn't know then.

I'm pretty curious about Catholicism, so I will probably be here quite a bit. I am intelligent but I am not a genius. I know a bit about the Bible but I do not know or remember everything. I really hope nobody makes a big deal out of my question the way they did before. I try to be patient but am really not much into big debates with Atheists though they can raise good questions at times. What bothers me is when people either don't have facts or don't have their facts straight or are scewing the facts which are really their own opinions. It makes me tired and hurts my head. I am sure satan is a master at debate, and I can't compete and don't really want to try.

Other than that yes I will be posting more questions and comments.

 

[jrmspaz]

I just want to add that another reason Catholics are so opposed to birth control is the fact that it can actually cause an early abortion. In some cases birth control prevents a fertilized egg from implanting.

I believe that married couples need to keep an open heart towards the possibility of children.. as God intended. But NFP is a very effective way of delaying pregnancy.

 

[johnnys4life]

This is from priestsforlife.org:
In their 2001 revision of the Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities ("A Campaign in Support of Life"), the United States Catholic Bishops speak of the connection between abortion and contraception in the following paragraphs:

Abortion and Contraception
The Church's teaching and pastoral efforts on responsible parenthood are appropriately treated more fully in other documents. However, we address the issue here, because some promote widespread use of contraception as a means to reduce abortions and even criticize the Church for not accepting this approach.

It is noteworthy that as acceptance and use of contraception have increased in our society, so have acceptance and use of abortion. Couples who unintentionally conceive a child while using contraception are far more likely to resort to abortion than others. Tragically, our society has fallen into a mentality that views children as a burden and invites many to consider abortion as a "backup" to contraceptive failure. This is most obvious in efforts to promote as "emergency contraception" drugs that really act as early abortifacients.

With Pope John Paul II we affirm that contraception and abortion are "specifically different evils," because only "the latter destroys the life of a human being," but that they are also related (The Gospel of Life, no. 13). It is important to remember that means that are referred to as "contraceptive" are, in reality, sometimes also abortifacient. An end to abortion will not come from contraceptive campaigns but from a deeper understanding of our human sexuality, and of human life, as sacred gifts deserving our careful stewardship.

 

[DianJo]

johnnys4life:

Read Pope Paul VI's encyclical "Humanae Vitae" on human sexuality, married life and contraception.
If you need a link, let me know.