PCOS, Birth Control, and Marriage

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stmotherteresa

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Hello!
So I’m in a pickle. I’m strongly pro-life, but I have to take birth control because I have a health condition. According to the Catholic religion, this allowed me to take BC. Trust me, I don’t like it either. I’ve tried a bunch of hormonal treatments under the sun, but I’ve only seen “positive” impacts w/ BC.

Here’s my question: how can I have a valid Catholic marriage while taking BC when I “can’t” get off? Should I even be worried? Chances are, because of PCOS, I’m probably infertile anyway. That, and I even if I did get pregnant, I’d have an extremely high chance of miscarrying.
 
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Have you consulted with a pro-life doctor who is trained in NaPro technology? That is your best bet for a solution that eschews hormones and conforms to the bioethical teachings of the Church.
 
What is it you’re worried about? It sounds like you’re aware that you are allowed to take medications for your condition even if those medications cause side effects. NaPro gets a lot of supporters but it’s not effective for everyone.

For a valid Catholic marriage you only have to intend to be open to life, if such should happen, even if the practical necessities of your medical condition make the possibility very remote. It’s no different than from how a marriage where one partner is known to be infertile is still valid.
 
So are you saying that I could still have a “valid” Catholic marriage even though I’m on BC for medical reasons?
 
stmotherteresa said:
So are you saying that I could still have a “valid” Catholic marriage even though I’m on BC for medical reasons?
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Please modify your terminology. You are not “taking birth control”. You are taking hormones to treat a medical condition. These hormones are not intended to be contraception and so neither you nor the doctor should refer to them in this way.
 
Of course.

Think about it. Why would the church teach that birth control is acceptable for medical reasons, if it wasn’t possible to have a valid marriage with it? It’s already a sin to have sex outside of marriage. And it would be no sin at all to take something to prevent pregnancy if you’re not having sex, since you can’t be meaningfully said to be contracepting in that case. The reason that teaching is there is that taking a pill that you need to stay healthy - that also has the effect of preventing pregnancy and is even marketed that way - is not an impediment to a valid marriage nor to an otherwise licit sexual act between spouses.
 
Thanks so much for your quick reply. Thank God for Catholic Answers. I don’t know where I’d be without it. 😄
 
DarkLight said:
Of course.

Think about it. Why would the church teach that birth control is acceptable for medical reasons, if it wasn’t possible to have a valid marriage with it? It’s already a sin to have sex outside of marriage. And it would be no sin at all to take something to prevent pregnancy if you’re not having sex, since you can’t be meaningfully said to be contracepting in that case. The reason that teaching is there is that taking a pill that you need to stay healthy - that also has the effect of preventing pregnancy and is even marketed that way - is not an impediment to a valid marriage nor to an otherwise licit sexual act between spouses.
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The Church does not “teach that birth control is acceptable”. The Church’s bioethicists have allowed that hormonal medication is acceptable treatment for diseases when the intention is not contraceptive.
 
Honestly at this point I’ve realized if I try to be technically correct enough for philosophical writing I’d never be able to say anything without an essay. The church teaches that what are referred to by the medical community as “birth control pills”, billed to insurance as “birth control”, and dispensed by the pharmacy as “birth control” are acceptable to be used as treatment where the intent is not contraceptive. Calling them something different tends to more confusion than clarity.
 
It might help if you think about it as not birth control. Because it isn’t. You are on a medicine that has side effects of infertility. That medicine is commonly used as birth control but that is not why it was given to you.
 
stmotherteresa said:
how can I have a valid Catholic marriage while taking BC when I “can’t” get off?
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Stop saying you are “on birth control”. You aren’t. You are taking hormones for a medical issue.

This is known as lawful therapeutic means (see Humanae Vitae). It is not immoral. It is not contraception. It does not prevent a valid marriage.
stmotherteresa said:
Should I even be worried?
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No. But, you might want to contact Dr Hilgers or a FertilityCare specialist trained in his method for a consultation.
 
Depending on the severity of your PCOS, you might be able to find a doctor that will work with you to allow you long term to take meds that are pregnancy-safe and even conducive to helping you to get pregnant.

But I’m not a doctor, so I won’t list any specific meds. I wouldn’t entirely write off motherhood. Unless various organs are removed, that always is a possibility, even with the risk of miscarriage.

You have no moral dilemma either way though, so there’s nothing to feel guilty or shameful about.

Be kind to yourself.
 
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