About supporting a bill that promotes contraceptives

[pjcsisabel]

A bill promoting the use of contraception is currently pending at our country’s legislature. It has caused countless debates between the government and religious sectors (mainly the Catholic Church). In fact there have been Catholic priests who have voiced their support for the bill in lieu of the bill’s alleged purpose to alleviate poverty by reducing the population of the country and the right for reproductive health of the citizens especially women. But still, the unanimous stand of the Bishops’ Conference of our country is against the bill.

My question is will it be okay to support the bill with due regard to its supposed potential to reduce the population and the acknowledgement of reproductive rights although it promotes and provides funding for contraception which is against Church teachings?

PS: Contraception is not illegal in our country. Even without the said bill, anyone can acquire contraception regardless of their religious affiliations.

 

[Corki]

If you support this bill because it supports "reproductive rights’ you may have a problem. “Reproductive rights” according to Church teaching is the right to have children and the right to decide how to space your children. This is a good thing. “Reproductive rights” in most political contexts is a right to contraception, sterilization and abortion. This is not a good thing.

There is also no Church teaching on the morality of movements to reduce the population. In fact, these movements usually have at heart either immoral means or immoral motives (such as racism or tribal disputes) or both.

Have you read the reasons the Bishops have given for opposing the legislation? Are they grounded in Church teaching? If so, I think you need a pretty good reason to take the opposite position.

You must also remember that it is never moral to do something evil just because you have a good intent or a worthy goal. Laws are always about action, rather than intent. Would the legislation result in immoral actions? What moral actions would result?

 

[Allegra]

A bill promoting the use of contraception is currently pending at our country’s legislature. It has caused countless debates between the government and religious sectors (mainly the Catholic Church). In fact there have been Catholic priests who have voiced their support for the bill in lieu of the bill’s alleged purpose to alleviate poverty by reducing the population of the country and the right for reproductive health of the citizens especially women. But still, the unanimous stand of the Bishops’ Conference of our country is against the bill.

My question is will it be okay to support the bill with due regard to its supposed potential to reduce the population and the acknowledgement of reproductive rights although it promotes and provides funding for contraception which is against Church teachings?

PS: Contraception is not illegal in our country. Even without the said bill, anyone can acquire contraception regardless of their religious affiliations.

I don’t see how any Catholic could support this bill. I also don’t see how reducing our populations will help anything. I’ve never heard the mayor of any town say, “Hooray, our population is decreasing! Properity is on the way!”

 

[Leegal]

My question is will it be okay to support the bill with due regard to its supposed potential to reduce the population and the acknowledgement of reproductive rights although it promotes and provides funding for contraception which is against Church teachings?

PS: Contraception is not illegal in our country. Even without the said bill, anyone can acquire contraception regardless of their religious affiliations.

The bill is not promoting contraception. The bill calls for insurance companies to pay for contraception for the employers to provide the coverage. There is no religious exemption for religious affiliated organizations; parishes are exempt.

You cannot support this bill as it stands, as a Catholic.

 

[LegoGE1947]

I don’t see how any Catholic could support this bill. I also don’t see how reducing our populations will help anything. I’ve never heard the mayor of any town say, “Hooray, our population is decreasing! Properity is on the way!”

In fact decreasing population usually means prosperity is on the way OUT THE DOOR! Check out for example Detroit, Michigan. That city’s population has decreased with the exodus of the auto industry and from what I have seen on the internet and news magazines Detroit is NOT exactly the most prosperous city in the USA right now. Also there are many countries in Europe where their population is decreasing and the economies of those countries are on mighty shakey ground.

 

[George_Stegmeir]

To begin with, What is a County Legislature doing considering such legislation? Are you living in The Peoples Republik of Kalifornia? This sounds like some nutty thing they would try out there.
Any Catholic who would vote for or otherwise support such legislation is committing a Mortal Sin…PERIOD. No matter what the excuse may be. Are you sure these are real Catholic Priests-or are they Episcopalians in disguise?,Any priest who publically or privately supports such legislation should be immediately reported to your local Bishop.
I’ll bet you dollars to donuts that whoever sponsored this legislation is getting campaign funds and/or other pay-offs from Planned Parenthood (which, in most places would be illegal, since they are funded with tax money). This should be investigated.
In this country, we have no problem with over population (unless one is bigoted and afraid of an increase in population by minorities)- and anyone who says we have an over population problem in the USA, is either a fool or a liar.
Any competant social scientist will tell you that over population in any European or North American countries is not a cause of poverty.

 

[LegoGE1947]

To begin with, What is a County Legislature doing considering such legislation? Are you living in The Peoples Republik of Kalifornia? This sounds like some nutty thing they would try out there.
Any Catholic who would vote for or otherwise support such legislation is committing a Mortal Sin…PERIOD. No matter what the excuse may be. And, any priest who supports such legislation should be immediately reported to your local Bishop.
I’ll bet you dollars to donuts that whoever sponsored this legislation is getting campaign funds and/or other pay-offs from Planned Parenthood (which, in most places would be illegal, since they are funded with tax money). This should be investigated.
In this country, we have no problem with over population (unless one is bigoted and afraid of an increase in population by minorities)- and anyone who says we have an over population problem, is either a fool or a liar.

Your last sentence was exactly why Planned Parenthood was founded. Margaret Sanger was bigoted and afraid of increase of population by minorities. In fact I’ve seen statistics that show the biggest customers of PP happen to be blacks and Hispanics. Isn’t that interesting? Today I got a newsletter from a prolife organization about the new movie “October Baby” about a young woman who is an abortion survivor. It seems NARAL an organization affiliated with Planned Parenthood is going to attempt to “educate” or make that “intimidate” Sony Pictures, the company that made this movie about the “dangers” of Crisis Pregnancy Centers (the danger is of course to abortion providers) see this link:nationalrighttolifenews.org/news/2012/04/naral-ratchets-up-campaign-against-october-baby/

 

[pjcsisabel]

Have you read the reasons the Bishops have given for opposing the legislation? Are they grounded in Church teaching? If so, I think you need a pretty good reason to take the opposite position.

Actually, my stand has always been what the Church’s stand is on the matter–against it. I am just wondering about the rising number of people claiming to be Catholics and yet promoting support for the bill. Are their reasons justified? And yes, the main reason of the Church in opposing the bill is grounded on morality which, according to the Church is not just for Catholics but for all people.

 

[pjcsisabel]

I don’t see how any Catholic could support this bill. I also don’t see how reducing our populations will help anything. I’ve never heard the mayor of any town say, “Hooray, our population is decreasing! Properity is on the way!”

Yes, one of the reasons of the Bishops’ Conference in the my country aside from moral teachings is that the population is wealth for the nation. The problem with most of us is that we fall prey to the supposed benefits of the bill peddled by its supporters. Probably on a certain standpoint our country may be considered as overpopulated but overpopulations in my opinion certainly isn’t the direct cause of poverty.

What’s very frightening is that the politicians who support the bill even tell that the true “pro-life” should support the bill because it protects the rights of the people especially women and that it can alleviate poverty.

 

[1ke]

My question is will it be okay to support the bill with due regard to its supposed potential to reduce the population and the acknowledgement of reproductive rights although it promotes and provides funding for contraception which is against Church teachings?

No and no. Neither of these things are moral.

 

[TheRealJuliane]

To begin with, What is a County Legislature doing considering such legislation? Are you living in The Peoples Republik of Kalifornia? This sounds like some nutty thing they would try out there.
Any Catholic who would vote for or otherwise support such legislation is committing a Mortal Sin…PERIOD. No matter what the excuse may be. Are you sure these are real Catholic Priests-or are they Episcopalians in disguise?,Any priest who publically or privately supports such legislation should be immediately reported to your local Bishop.
I’ll bet you dollars to donuts that whoever sponsored this legislation is getting campaign funds and/or other pay-offs from Planned Parenthood (which, in most places would be illegal, since they are funded with tax money). This should be investigated.
In this country, we have no problem with over population (unless one is bigoted and afraid of an increase in population by minorities)- and anyone who says we have an over population problem in the USA, is either a fool or a liar.
Any competant social scientist will tell you that over population in any European or North American countries is not a cause of poverty.

The OP is not in the United States - the statement is "my country, not “county.”

 

[TheRealJuliane]

Yes, one of the reasons of the Bishops’ Conference in the my country aside from moral teachings is that the population is wealth for the nation. The problem with most of us is that we fall prey to the supposed benefits of the bill peddled by its supporters. Probably on a certain standpoint our country may be considered as overpopulated but overpopulations in my opinion certainly isn’t the direct cause of poverty.

What’s very frightening is that the politicians who support the bill even tell that the true “pro-life” should support the bill because it protects the rights of the people especially women and that it can alleviate poverty.

What measures such as this legislation actually do, instead of eliminating poverty, is to attempt to eliminate the poor themselves, with contraception and abortion.