Pro-life Protestants and birth control pills

[AlegreFe]

I had never been told of the abortifacient properties of the pill. It honestly never occurred to me. I thought it only prevented ovulation. So when I became Catholic and learned the truth, believe me that was the first thing I confessed! It has caused me a lot of grief to think that for the few years I took the pill I may have unknowingly aborted my child, and now have infertility issues.

You are not alone on this issue. When I first found out, I too confessed it in the sacrament of Confession. I was very repentant of that sin and wanted God’s mercy; so I “ran” to confession to confess the fact that in the past I was on the pill.

Someone here posted that condoms and other things are not a concern but that is so far from the truth. ANY form of artificial contraceptive or any form of surgical means of preventing birth is a MORTAL sin and needs to be confessed and such a person doing these things needs to stop doing those things and repent.

9 But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so when he
went in to his brother’s wife he spilled the semen on the ground,
lest he should give offspring to his brother.
10 And what he did was displeasing in the sight of the LORD, and
he slew him also. Gen 38:9-10

Spilling your semen on the ground is a form of contraception and that is displeasing to the Lord. We don’t have to get into specifics here but the use of a condom is the same thing and so is a vasectomy and the like; because they all have the same end result and that is to prevent birth from happening. That person’s reasons for having sex is not a self-giving sacrifice of love, it is a selfish act out for sexual pleasure; THAT is EVIL and needs to be confessed.

28 So (also) husbands should love their wives as their own
bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
29 For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and
cherishes it, even as Christ does the church,
30 because we are members of his body.
31 “For this reason a man shall leave (his) father and (his)
mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one
flesh.” Eph 5:28-31

We all know what that “one flesh” is and that is the birth of a child resulting from the marital act which is a self-giving sacrifice of ones love for the other in a marriage. Even if a couple is practicing NFP, they still give of themselves fully and do not worry in “getting pregnant” because they trust in God whether He wants to bring forth life for the couple at that time or not. Now that is LOVE and giving of oneself fully in a marital act. What a sacrifice!

 

[Syele]

Someone here posted that condoms and other things are not a concern but that is so far from the truth. ANY form of artificial contraceptive or any form of surgical means of preventing birth is a MORTAL sin and needs to be confessed and such a person doing these things needs to stop doing those things and repent.

9 But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so when he
went in to his brother’s wife he spilled the semen on the ground,
lest he should give offspring to his brother.
10 And what he did was displeasing in the sight of the LORD, and
he slew him also. Gen 38:9-10

Spilling your semen on the ground is a form of contraception and that is displeasing to the Lord. We don’t have to get into specifics here but the use of a condom is the same thing and so is a vasectomy and the like; because they all have the same end result and that is to prevent birth from happening. That person’s reasons for having sex is not a self-giving sacrifice of love, it is a selfish act out for sexual pleasure; THAT is EVIL and needs to be confessed.

28 So (also) husbands should love their wives as their own
bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
29 For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and
cherishes it, even as Christ does the church,
30 because we are members of his body.
31 “For this reason a man shall leave (his) father and (his)
mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one
flesh.” Eph 5:28-31

We all know what that “one flesh” is and that is the birth of a child resulting from the marital act which is a self-giving sacrifice of ones love for the other in a marriage. Even if a couple is practicing NFP, they still give of themselves fully and do not worry in “getting pregnant” because they trust in God whether He wants to bring forth life for the couple at that time or not. Now that is LOVE and giving of oneself fully in a marital act. What a sacrifice!

The protestant view of the scriptures you cited is different than the Catholic one. This is why we protestants will say condoms and some other contraceptions are not a problem. They are not a problem in that they do not cause abortion of a living human. The whole contraception argument against condoms and other forms of Birth Control that is not abortificant is a whole other can of worms. No form of birth control is 100% accurate except complete abstanance, so at no point is a couple stopping God from bringing forth life from the couple. Onan did more than just spill semen on the ground… he purpousely defied his duty to provide an offspring to a particular woman. Tamar was not even his wife. The two were there specifically to preform a duty of creating an offspring (Marriage is MUCH different than this) Onan had sex with Tamar for the sex and not to do what he was there for. Other than to create that offspring, he did not have permission to have sex with Tamar- this means Onan committed adultery… a sin displeasing to God and punishable by death at that time.

 

[happygal]

Is using condom/contracaption or the prevention of having baby a sin. There couple who does not use any form of stuff to prevent having baby, just that the man will have to practise pre ejection, or something like that. So it is still a sin??

 

[AlegreFe]

Is using condom/contracaption or the prevention of having baby a sin. There couple who does not use any form of stuff to prevent having baby, just that the man will have to practise pre ejection, or something like that. So it is still a sin??

Hi happygal!

Yes it is a sin. Please read my post. If one is active in the marital act and does not give FULLY of oneself, it is a sin. How can a man give FULLY of himself and not give the seed of life that God gave him to give to his wife? In that case the husband cannot give fully of himself because he is holding back the seed of life and he is doing it only to have pleasure for himself. That is selfish and that is a sin.

God commanded us to be “fruitful and multiply” and when a man and a woman participate in the marital act without fully giving of themselves they are sinning.

Have you ever heard Christopher West speak on the Theology of The Body? You should hear one of his free CDs that the Mary Foundation gives out for a donation of course. One dollar is all you need for a donation. I know you are very open minded and have your heart open to listen to something I would suggest. So if you could please take the time to listen to Christopher West on this CD, that would be great.

God bless happygal!

edit: Here is a quote from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops on NFP.

Natural Family Planning (NFP)

NFP is an umbrella term for certain methods used to achieve and avoid pregnancies.
These methods are based on observation of the naturally occurring signs and
symptoms of the fertile and infertile phases of a woman’s menstrual cycle. Couples
using NFP to avoid pregnancy abstain from intercourse and genital contact during
the fertile phase of the woman’s cycle. No drugs, devices, or surgical procedures are
used to avoid pregnancy.

NFP reflects the dignity of the human person within the context of marriage and
family life, promotes openness to life, and recognizes the value of the child. By
respecting the love-giving and life-giving natures of marriage, NFP can enrich the
bond between husband and wife.

 

[AlegreFe]

Here is an article from Envoy magazine on NFP.

“The Catholic Church’s teachings on family planning are logical,
consistent and wonderfully liberating when properly understood,
yet they are rejected by the overwhelming majority of Catholics …”