I am expected to teach artificial contraception to women

[Ma.Eugenia]

Hi again!

I have a dilemma. I am studying Nursing but am Pro-life and do not believe in artificial contraception.

Next week, I will be having duties in the community wherein we are told that we should advise women on Family Planning as part of our health teachings.

In the orientation lecture this week, we were told that we are supposed to advise women on it. The lecturer said that while NFP was a good option, it is not for everybody because it is difficult to follow and not everybody has the patience for it.

She explained each artificial method in an overly-simplified manner that downplayed its negatives but at the same time, emphasized the negatives of NFP.

I felt also that she made it sound as if having many children were a problem instead of looking at it as a gift from God.

Example: She related a story about a woman who came to her looking unhappy because she was pregnant again after her method failed her.

I am being graded for this—but I refuse to promote something I strongly do not agree with, which is artificial contraception.

Does anyone have a suggestion how I can get out of this dilemma?

 

[buffalo]

Stick to your beliefs. Do not sell out.

 

[rpp]

Is this a Catholic Nursing School? If so, appeal to the Director and, if necessary to the Bishop. That is awful!

Have you spoken with the instructor about this directly, preferably outside of class (so she is not pushed into a corner)? If not discuss with her the moral dillema you face and explain that it is a form of religious discrimination; like forcing a Moslem or a Jew to eat pork so they know how it tastes.

 

[masondoggy]

Maybe you could use this as an opportunity to better inform women of the risks involved with hormonal contraception. Study up on the subject and come up with a way to present the real “pro’s” and cons. But focus a little more on the “cons”.

And it’s also a great opportunity to present NFP to woman as a positive, and make sure to include data from studies that prove it’s effectiveness.

As long as your using medical facts to back everything up, I don’t see how they could give you a bad grade. After all, your job as a nurse is to educate.

 

[Riley259]

Hi again!

I have a dilemma. I am studying Nursing but am Pro-life and do not believe in artificial contraception.

Next week, I will be having duties in the community wherein we are told that we should advise women on Family Planning as part of our health teachings.

In the orientation lecture this week, we were told that we are supposed to advise women on it. The lecturer said that while NFP was a good option, it is not for everybody because it is difficult to follow and not everybody has the patience for it.

She explained each artificial method in an overly-simplified manner that downplayed its negatives but at the same time, emphasized the negatives of NFP.

I felt also that she made it sound as if having many children were a problem instead of looking at it as a gift from God.

Example: She related a story about a woman who came to her looking unhappy because she was pregnant again after her method failed her.

I am being graded for this—but I refuse to promote something I strongly do not agree with, which is artificial contraception.

Does anyone have a suggestion how I can get out of this dilemma?

Pray to the Holy Spirit for the gift of fortitude and stick with your beliefs. You won’t regret it.

 

[1ke]

Hi again!

I have a dilemma. I am studying Nursing but am Pro-life and do not believe in artificial contraception.

I am being graded for this—but I refuse to promote something I strongly do not agree with, which is artificial contraception.

Does anyone have a suggestion how I can get out of this dilemma?

I suggest you seek legal advice-- I am unfamiliar with the law and Constitution in the Phillipines. In the US, there are some laws that protect people who have moral objections to contraception in the medical field (although those protections are under attack).

Contact your diocesan offices and ask them if they have any suggestions for you regarding your legal options.

Certainly, from a moral perspective you cannot counsel women on contraception.

 

[mommyof4]

I have worked in hospitals before, and during orientation they told us that we do not have to participate in any activity or procedure that is contrary to our religious beliefs. This was at a Lutheren Hospital. I think if you just speak to your director and explain the situation to her, she should be understanding of this. If not, then go up the ladder and explain your situation.

 

[Ma.Eugenia]

Hi again!

The school I am studying in is **not **Catholic, though the owner (of the school) is. We had mass during our capping ceremony and also, the statues of Jesus and Mama Mary are placed in a prominent place in school grounds.

That’s why I think, some of my teachers teach freely about artificial contaception, which is not normally done in a Catholic school environment.

Problem here is, many of my classmates, take it all in as if it was gospel truth that NFP is hard to do, therefore, we we should give the option of artificial contraception, or at least advise condom.

Some of my teachers think that our country needs to lessen its population and contraception, including artificial, is the way to go.

I disagree because it fosters a mentality that takes away the beauty of creating a new human life as a gift from God to a mentality that sees new life as a mere potential problem in the making.

Next week, when I have community duty, I will follow your advise and stick to my beliefs.

I will talk to the clinical instructor and tell her my point of view. If she wants, she can grill me on the advantages and disadvantages of each method (one on one) just to show that I studied it —but she should not expect me to teach something that goes against my moral stand.

Thank you very much for your great advises.

 

[rpp]

Nations that encourage and promote conmtraception are being taken over by Moslems. Look at Europe.

 

[Ma.Eugenia]

Nations that encourage and promote conmtraception are being taken over by Moslems. Look at Europe.

Hi rpp!

Artificial contraception is against the teaching of our Church.

Some people say that they teach it because priests and nuns are not married so they really don’t know what life is really like out there.

Women sometimes make excuses for men when they go astray by saying, “They are just being men.” or “What will the chicken do if the rice is near, if not peck?”

They forget about things like self-control and responsibility. They forget that we are not animals–we have a soul that is supposed to be destined with God.

The problem with contraception is that it promotes promiscuity (despite advertisements that say it can be used by married couples—it is also used by those who are not married). More importantly, it degrades the value of human life.

The instructor told us that the woman felt sad when she found out she was pregnant because her method failed. The instructor validated her feelings of guilt by saying that it is her fault (by deduction) “You didn’t use your method properly.”

Instead of seeing the new life as a gift from God to be welcomed with joy and thanksgiving—the woman feels that the child is a mistake!

This contraceptive mentality, unfortunately, is beginning to take root in my country. Already there are bills pending in our House of Representatives regarding this (you can search it in Prolife Philippines website.

I fear the moment we allow such mentality to become prevalent in our country, we will be turning our backs to our God and the Catholic faith.

I hope it will never happen.

Thank you for for reply, rpp.

 

[Suat]

Perhaps you will accept the opinion of someone on the other side of the fence? I am an atheist, and I have no moral qualms about ABC or NFP or any other means of contraception.

Can you try to find employment within facility that has a similar view on morality, are there any NFP only facilities that you can work for? If there are not, then it will help to be upfront with your dilemma before you are hired. That way the administration can attempt to work around your religious beliefs by assigning you to other duties. That said, if you chose to take employment at a center that is pro ABC and pro NFP, then I think you need to present both sides fairly and not focus on the cons of ABC while promoting the pros of NFP. While I think it is fine for someone to be religious and to make that known at work, keep in mind that you will be paid by the facility to look after the patients, not to proselytize for your religion.

From a personal standpoint, there is a lot of misinformation on both sides of the debate. Neither ABC nor NFP is perfect, so I would leave the decision as to which to use up to the patient and focus on presenting a balanced view of the pros and cons of both. Besides, you will not know the religion of the people you are treating. Would you want a Jehovah’s Witness nurse focusing on the cons of blood transfusions because she does not believe they are moral?

 

[jman507]

Would you want a Jehovah’s Witness nurse focusing on the cons of blood transfusions because she does not believe they are moral?

If the Jehovah’s Witness nurse thought a blood transfusion was immoral, I would hope that she would excuse herself at the point in time she thought standard practise would put herself in a moral dilemma, not just for my sake, but for her sake of trying to be a moral person. If she thought it would put her in a dilemma to even bring the subject up, she could find another area to work.

Though once you get a job that requires something more than a technition, ethical dilemmas will come up. The medial field is better off trying to have a sence of ethics and morality than trying to kill it off, so in my opinion it is good to have people that have a sence of ethics and morals, and if a person’s stance comes into too much conflict with what is “standard care” of a certain area, it might be a good idea, to try to help them either go to a place where it is accepted and those coming to that place know that stance or to find a whole other area to work in.

 

[Fergal]

In the orientation lecture this week, we were told that we are supposed to advise women on it. The lecturer said that while NFP was a good option, it is not for everybody because it is difficult to follow and not everybody has the patience for it.

She explained each artificial method in an overly-simplified manner that downplayed its negatives but at the same time, emphasized the negatives of NFP.

I felt also that she made it sound as if having many children were a problem instead of looking at it as a gift from God.

See the problem here is that you do not know the make up of your audience. If it were a 100% Catholic audience then I would not discuss the artificial methods and would give great time to the methods of NFP. My advice: Go ahead with the talk and present it as you are supposed to. Do not leave anything out. Now when it comes to the part of that talk on the types of contraception available downplay the artificial methods greatly. You may tell those listening that artificial contraception is not for everyone since it has proved less than reliable, has some serious health implications and in other circumstances creates a dependance rather than an independance.

I would then go on to play up, big time, NFP as being the most natural, the most reliable and the safest for womens health when it is used properly. I would stress the fact that all things that are good fro us take effort and patience especially in the areas of personal health and freedom. e.g. if a person wants to gain a good shapely body and loose a few pounds then they get help preparing a schedule of exercises along with help in forming a nutritional chart. Since these are important areas of our lives, they demand time and effort. So does NFP.

I would then finish that section by saying after all the reason why people use NFP is to space children not to prevent them.

Example: She related a story about a woman who came to her looking unhappy because she was pregnant again after her method failed her.

Again stress how important it is to give the method time and effort and ensure that it is being used properly. The woman obviously did not take enough time to study it or did not stick to the precepts of the NFP method they were using. Speel out here that NFP empowers women by helping them to understand their own bodies and empowers them in their marriage to be in control of when and where love is made! of course that is that the partner is willing to respect the wife’s opinion. If not then you can go on the track of the husband not having enough respect for her is he thinks his demands for satisfaction override her desire to space her children.

I am being graded for this—but I refuse to promote something I strongly do not agree with, which is artificial contraception.

You don’t have to promote it. You have a duty to point out why it is not so good for all concerned. You are being given a chance to promote NFP. Youwill score no points for ignoring artificial methods but you can down play them or tell the real truth about them Yes! Indeed you are being graded not only in the classroom where you will deliver this lecture but also through the eyes of God. I know where I would rather score and A.

Does anyone have a suggestion how I can get out of this dilemma?

Read the above again!

God bless you and all that you do for God.

 

[mikew262]

Stick to your beliefs. Do not sell out.

I agree with Buffalo (which is rare ). If this is a real problem for you, talk to your instructor or higher if your instructor won’t bend.

 

[lizaanne]

I suggest you seek legal advice-- I am unfamiliar with the law and Constitution in the Phillipines. In the US, there are some laws that protect people who have moral objections to contraception in the medical field (although those protections are under attack).

Contact your diocesan offices and ask them if they have any suggestions for you regarding your legal options.

Certainly, from a moral perspective you cannot counsel women on contraception.

I think this is the best advice here so far.

~Liza

 

[Sam88]

As a health care practicioner you will be expected to inform patients about their treatment options, and should do so. You are not obliged to participate in any treatment option you consider immoral, but you may appropriately discuss such options with patients. Do this by telling them the truth - what such options are, what they do, and the consequences of making such a choice. If I were in the Philippines I would even consider reminding them which options were permitted by the church, if the patient indicated that they were Catholic.

There is nothing immoral in speaking the truth, and that often requires a discussion of treatment options that are legal and available, even if you do not recommend them. The reason for this is based on respect for human dignity and freedom. All patients have the right to informed consent, which means that they make personal decisions based on the true facts. God does not make decisions for us, but leaves us free to be wise or foolish, holy or sinful. You of course need not imitate the presentation you heard from your instructor which you feel was biased. Instead, ensure that the advantages of NFP are clearly presented. The provision of clearly biased facts is another method of disrespecting the dignity of your patient.

 

[Texas_Roofer]

A must read which DailyBread posted for us

ethicalhealthcare.org/articles/larimore_birth_control.pdf

 

[tequilamac]

Hi again!

I have a dilemma. I am studying Nursing but am Pro-life and do not believe in artificial contraception.

Next week, I will be having duties in the community wherein we are told that we should advise women on Family Planning as part of our health teachings.

In the orientation lecture this week, we were told that we are supposed to advise women on it. The lecturer said that while NFP was a good option, it is not for everybody because it is difficult to follow and not everybody has the patience for it.

She explained each artificial method in an overly-simplified manner that downplayed its negatives but at the same time, emphasized the negatives of NFP.

I felt also that she made it sound as if having many children were a problem instead of looking at it as a gift from God.

Example: She related a story about a woman who came to her looking unhappy because she was pregnant again after her method failed her.

I am being graded for this—but I refuse to promote something I strongly do not agree with, which is artificial contraception.

Does anyone have a suggestion how I can get out of this dilemma?

I don’t see a dilemma. Teach the NFP and then explain the options of artificial contraception and why they should not use it. Lots of reasons, even medically. No dilemma here. Be at peace.

 

[Eileen_T]

Also, ask your ecturer to check out this site
woomb.org/

 

[Valke2]

Do what your teacher requires or quit. I’m sure you knew this issue would come up eventually in your profession. If you are unable to abide by the ethics and standards of the profession you have chosen, then you need to leave the profession.