Questions for Catholics concerning birth control?

I came from a very devout Catholic family and used to work for a Catholic pregnancy counseling center that focused heavily on the use of birth control.

Catholics do not believe in birth control (including condoms) because they feel that any act of sex that does not include the possibility for children is immoral and sinful. The very act of desiring not to have as many children as God wills (as many children as possible) is a sin. They do, however, allow Natural Family Planning, which is a CC funded program the relies on menstrual cycles and basal temperature (rhythm method).

The very idea that any non-church funded BC is sinful, yet NFP (which the church profits from) is fine, is hypocritical. If it is a sin to interfere with the number of children a family is allowed then NFP should still technically be a sin, since it is used to regulate the amount of children in a family. They skirt this by saying "NFP allows for divine intervention" (i.e. It doesn't actually work that well). Which is true, NFP is incredibly inaccurate at preventing pregnancy. They won't tell you this during the course though. They will tell you it is more effective than condoms and BC if practiced correctly (which is incredible difficult since menstrual cycles and basal temperature are incredibly hard to measure). Basically, NFP is not a sin because it is really ineffective. Bottom line.

My husband and I use birth control because we both came from large families. His family could not financially support the number of children they had and my family did not believe in BC and could not emotionally support the number of children they had. We don't want to have more children than we are able to love/support. We think that would be far more "sinful" than choosing to not have a ton of children.

I think there are plenty of decent Catholic families that practice safe sex without NFP, though if you are people who feel the need to agree with your church on every issue you will likely experience some turbulence in this area. Ultimately this is a decision about family and you need to understand how your family will be affected, not just by the possibility of other children, but (if you choose to to disregard this teaching) how your family will be affected if you choose to participate in a religious group with practices you are not comfortable with.

1) A sin is only mortal if three requirements are meant: it must be a serious matter, the person engaging in the act must know it's a sin prior to committing it, and the person must be willfully engaging in the sin (not being forced to by threats from another person or circumstance). Contraception is a serious matter, but there are some people who don't understand it's a sin, and there are other people who are forced to use it by their spouses. So, it's not always a mortal sin, but it is most of the time.

2) No, my husband and I do not use artificial birth control. We have only three kids, by the way. When we married, we were protestants who had no problem with artificial birth control. However, with my family history of cardiovascular problems, taking hormonal birth control is quite dangerous (a lot of women are on it who shouldn't be -- doctors are extremely lazy about this issue, and it is shortening the lives of women! Hormonal birth control is the #1 reason for the increase in heart disease for women). So, we used barrier methods. And then I developed an allergic reaction to spermicide. Which, I mean -- why the heck was I putting a chemical that KILLS human cells into my body to begin with? After that, I developed an allergic reaction to latex. So, we learned Natural Family Planning for the sole purpose of limiting our use of condoms to only during ovulation, because believe me, having an allergic reaction to latex after using a condom is a pretty horrible experience. We found that even though I'm not at all "regular like clockwork," there's been a great deal of scientific discovery about how the female cycle works. NFP is now customized by woman and actually pretty darn easy to use after you learn the basics, plus couples average sex 2-3x a week, slightly above national average. When we became Catholic, we'd been using NFP for years with no problems. In fact, it's easier for me to find signs of health problems like infections, ovarian cysts, etc., thanks to NFP. And as I said, we have only 3 kids. Now that we've studied Catholic teaching on it, we agree that NFP is the right choice for ALL couples. Artificial birth control isn't necessary, and it's even unhealthy for women, particularly the hormonal kind. Have you ever read the list of side effects on hormonal birth control for women? What man who really loves his wife will let her assume all the physical risks of hormonal birth control just so he doesn't have to parent?

3) You and your wife simply need to learn more about the Church's teaching on this, how NFP actually works (it's not the old calendar Rhythm method!), and why being open to life is important.

Also, if you are talking about Fr. Cutie, he's committing a mortal sin by rejecting Catholicism just so he can have sex with birth control. He COULD have been released from his priestly vows to marry the woman he impregnated and remained Catholic, but he's being selfish and self-indulgent.

1) Yes

2) Before I became Catholic, I did. However, I have since learned that the Pill is an abortifacient. In other words, use of the pill causes dead babies. It also dramatically increases the incidence of breast cancer.

NFP, by the way, is not something the Church profits from. And to call something safer and with a higher reliability than the Pill - which Is, by they way, a moneymaker for somebody - a "crapshoot" is pure bull.

3) Not to be cruel, but...

If you are going to convert, you're going to basically swear on a stack of Bibles that you agree with everything the Church teaches. If that's not true, why go through the motions?

All due respect, this is the worst place to find out what the Catholic Church teaches. The best place, of course, is from the Church itself. If you don't feel like meeting with Father quite yet, wander past a Catholic bookstore (Not a religious bookstore that has it's own "Catholic section"). You'll be looking specifically for Humanae Vitae, and Theology of the Body would also be valuable, but they might have some other works for you to look at.

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Re-read the mechanism of action: the Pill prevents implantation, therefore leading to the death of the child. You've been lied to by fast buck artists.

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If the Holy Father has made clear statements over-ruling previous instruction, quote them and let us verify them so the title of "liar" can be lifted from you.

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Once again: the mechanism of action is unambiguous. The pill prevents implantation after conception occurs. Some day when people aren't passing your window demanding more salt for their fries, you can look that up.

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Life begins at conception. Any alteration of that is a desperate attempt to find an excuse to take innocent life.

"...FDA-required research information on the birth control pills Ortho-Cyclen and Ortho Tri-Cyclen state that they cause “changes in the endometrium. Notice that these changes are not stated by the manufacturer as speculative or theoretical effects, but as actual ones. They consider this such a well-established fact that it requires no statement of qualification..."

It's in multiple sources. I'm done doing research for kiddies. Have Mommie or Daddy look it up for you.

<<Questions for Catholics <snip> 1) Is this true?>>

Three conditions must be met in order for a sin to be mortal. Grave matter is one such condition and use of artificial birth control as a means to it's intended end constitutes grave matter. If the other two conditions are met as well, then it will constitute a mortal sin.

<<2) Personal question: do you use birth control? Why or why not?>>

No.

Anyone who knows anything about sex and how the body works knows that artificial birth control is unecessary.

<<3) If my wife <snip> we have planned?>>

Yes. You can't be Catholic and use artificial birth control.

The other two conditions that make a mortal sin are:

2) The sinner must be aware that the sin entails grave matter

3) The sinner freely chooses to commit the sin in full consent of the will.

<<The priest left <snip> an Episcopal priest.>>

And this is relevant how?

Dude, the Pope say's it is the "lesser of two evils" so go nuts.

[2) It is stupid to not use Birth control unless you already feel a strong moral obligation not too -- and that choice shouldn't be influenced by any religious organisation, but only what you truly believe.]

[3) Religion isn't as black and white as many people think. If you choose to follow a more liberal strain of Catholicism but you still believe in the cores behind the religion, then you can safely identify yourself as Catholic. All these rules set up by various religious institutions are the product of the thousands of years that the religion has been around. The spiritual element, extending into your moral beliefs and actions, is the religion at its core and should be all that matters.]

1) Is this true?

Yes only if you used it with your freewill, know thats it is wrong , its agrave matter

2) Personal question: do you use birth control? Why or why not?

No , cause its like eating food and enjoying the pleasure of the taste and then trowing up cause i dont wanna get fat..but the whoel point of eating food is to get nuitrition not purelly for the pleasure... like the whole point of having sex is to have babies and grow in a closer relationship with my spouse not purelly for the pleasure.

3) If my wife and I, with two kids already, choose to use birth control, are we then choosing to not convert to Catholicism, like we have planned?

well you have to be open to life but there are natural methods you can use to space out your kids responsibility..rather than use artificial means.

I know a lot of people - devout Catholics - who think that this prohibition is stupid and reckless, darling, especially given the problems we face with population growth and resources.

My grandmother was perhaps the most devout Catholic I've ever known...she had more than a dozen kids, and late in life, she confided in me that she thought the Pope was wrong about the birth control ban...she didn't think that god would really object to limiting family sizes when the size of hers made her life, my grandfather's life, and the lives of all of her kids so much harder.

Tolstoyevsky has given outright incorrect information - the Pill is absolutely NOT an abortifacient. It is not designed to interrupt an existing pregnancy. It works by fooling the body into believing it is already pregnant so that no ovulation takes place. People should check their information before they make silly statements.

Tolstoyevsky - that is entirely untrue...the pill prevents ovulation, meaning there's no egg to fertilize. Learn facts, rather than propaganda.

(((Colin)))

Tolstoyevsky, Are the words too big for you to understand?

The pill, by increasing the levels of progestins and estrogen in the woman's system, induces a state of pseudo-pregnancy where ovulation does not occur. No ovulation=no egg to fertilize=no conception. Simple.

If something interferes with the implantation of the blastocyst in the endometrium, it is a contragestive, not an abortifacient, since pregnancy does not begin until implantation.

You really need to get your terms right - and just a hint, but if you're going to get snarky about the intelligence of the person you're arguing with, you'd better be right in what you're saying. Otherwise, you'll look like an azz.

Again.

Thank you, Tolstoyevsky, for demonstrating how having only a little knowledge is a dangerous thing - and makes you look like a halfwit.

One - there is NO medical consensus as to when life begins, so blanket statements that it begins at conception are nothing more than religious dogma.

Two - oral contraceptives do not rely on changes to the endometrium to prevent pregnancy - they prevent ovulation by simulating pregnancy, which would of course have an effect on the endometrium, as any halfway intelligent turnip would be able to understand, but they do not prevent implantation, since, when a woman uses oral contraceptives, there's no blastocyst to implant.

Three - regardless of the specifics of the pill, something that interferes with implantation is not an abortifacient, but a contragestive. It works like this -

Contraceptive - prevents conception.

Contragestive - prevents implantation.

Abortifacient - terminates pregnancy.

I'm done correcting your blatant misinformation. I can only imagine that you push this kind of incorrect propaganda on people to scare them into compliance with your beliefs.

Despicable.

The Catholic Church encourages the Rhythm Method, which is really a crapshoot quite honestly because it's based on menstrual cycles, which are erratic. Pope Benedict said BC would be acceptable to avoid contracting HIV/AIDS, but retracted it later on. The Church has viewed BC as equivalent to abortion, which is a sin.

I was raised Catholic, but became an atheist later on, so I have no issue with BC. My stepdad was a Catholic but still had a vasectomy done.

I would advise that if you are to convert to Catholicism, you should continue with your plans. The Church in the past has declared chocolate illegal, and continued to believe that the earth was the center of the universe until the 20th century. I prefer to believe in the Catholicism that came before Pope Urban II, when Popes were powerless, not considered infallible, and it was a kinder, gentler Church. To think of the modern Catholic Church as the true Church is unconscionable, as Popes have supported juntas and Nazis.

1. yes it is, but at this time it is a little followed teaching.

2. um. im 16. so no lol. but i know poeple in my family do. its just too difficult to go by "the calendar method" which is what the church wants you to use.

3. theoretically, yes it is against the church. if you believe i nthe catholic church, though, there is NO reason that should stop you. while yes it is a sin it is somewhat more accepted i nthe church today. maybe when you join the church, you will not desire to use it. but just because you do doesnt mean you should convert to the religion you believe in

1. Only for the really religious types.

2. Yes.

3. No. You can still be a Catholic. Just don't mention it in church to the priest obviously.