Is it prudent to take the Pill for medical reasons?

[Angelfan]

I have read the previous responses to this question and it appears that the answer is “yes.” However, when teaching my ninth- and tenth-grade CCD classes regarding chastity, this question comes up every year. My response to them has always been “No, it is not okay,” as the Pill masks certain conditions but does not get to the root of treating the problem.

Could you please comment on this? Many young girls are being put on the Pill by their physicians to help with acne, their cycles, etc. I would like to have this question answered honestly! (Is the answer going to be different depending upon if you are a 44-year-old woman having cyclical problems versus a 15-year-old girl with acne problems?)

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

I’m afraid you are conflating prudence with a moral requirement. By saying “No, it is not okay,” you are giving your students the impression that there is a moral prohibition on taking drugs ordinarily prescribed for contraceptive purposes for other legitimate medical reasons. Your reason for doing so though – the ineffectiveness of such a treatment – is merely a prudential concern. There are, of course, other prudential concerns, especially for teenagers (e.g., it could weaken their commitment to chastity), but it is unhelpful to blur what should be a sharp distinction between prudence and moral requirement.

What would be a more helpful route is to explain forthrightly that some drugs have more than one purpose. They can be taken for a good purpose (to regulate cycles, to treat acne); and they can be taken for a bad purpose (contraception). If a drug that has both effects is taken solely for the good purpose, then it is okay to take that drug. BUT – and here’s where your lecture on prudence comes in – we must be really certain that such drugs are the best possible means of treatment. Since there are reports that the Pill only masks symptoms and does not treat the actual malady, it would be better for teens and their parents to seek alternative treatments that will seek to cure the malady. One Catholic apostolate doing work in this area is the Pope Paul VI Institute.