Question about the Pill

[Catholic2003]

NFPfamily:

I addressed this line of thought in my pp. I stated as far as fertilized eggs were concerned, or new life as I stated, the risk of aborting this new life is greater while on bc. I was not talking about the risk of fertilization itself.

As jmv surmised, I’m comparing the number of spontaneous abortions between using the pill and not using the pill. To me, this seems to be the logical comparison to make.

Going back to the burning building analogy, suppose that the fire department is on the scene, and the firefighters are divided between the two tasks of rescuing people in the building and putting out the fire. In the end, some people will die because they were not rescued and the fire in their part of the building was not put out.

If the fire chief determines that by reallocating more firefighters on the rescue efforts and fewer firefighters on putting out the fire, that more lives will be saved, then I think that the reallocation is moral and should be done. It doesn’t make any sense to argue that the reallocation is actually murder, because for the people who aren’t rescued, the probability of them dying in the fire is now higher because there are fewer firefighers working on putting out the fire.

Analogy key:

• people dying in the fire = spontaneous abortions
• reallocation of firefighters = using the pill
• people left in the building = ovulations that occur (and are fertilized)
• areas where the fire isn’t put out = implantation failures

 

[Ghosty]

Artificial birth control thins out the endometrium and makes it nearly impossible for a new life to implant itself, thereby causing the abortion.

This isn’t true based on any medical studies I’m aware of. The Pill can thin the lining, but 98% of the time it simply prevents ovulation. In women where ovulation is not prevented (and this tends to be semi-consistant for individual women, rather than a percentage chance for every single woman) pregnancy is usually on par with women who are not on the Pill. This would seem to indicate that the thinning of the lining of the uterus is not very severe or common, because if it were we would see a significantly reduced rate of pregnancy in women who were ovulating but taking the Pill.

Of course my understanding could be off, or out of date. Again I can only speak on the knowledge I have. Anyone who has reservations on this issue should remain abstinate when taking the Pill for medical reasons.

 

[NFPfamily]

Ghosty:

This isn’t true based on any medical studies I’m aware of. The Pill can thin the lining, but 98% of the time it simply prevents ovulation. In women where ovulation is not prevented (and this tends to be semi-consistant for individual women, rather than a percentage chance for every single woman) pregnancy is usually on par with women who are not on the Pill. This would seem to indicate that the thinning of the lining of the uterus is not very severe or common, because if it were we would see a significantly reduced rate of pregnancy in women who were ovulating but taking the Pill.

Of course my understanding could be off, or out of date. Again I can only speak on the knowledge I have. Anyone who has reservations on this issue should remain abstinate when taking the Pill for medical reasons.

Well, I speak on behalf of knowledge I received through training to teach sympto-thermal Natural Family Planning and from researching this topic a great deal. I don’t want to create* sides* on this issue, but I stand by the information I’ve gathered through reliable sources. I’ve even gotten information from ABC companies stating that this does happen, so I’d consider that an unbiased source. I just don’t want to candy-coat any information about ABC and I don’t want people to think that it’s harmless. Furthermore, it’s just my style to err on the more conservative side of thinking on issues such as this. I keep repeating that in my opinion, when there are other treatment options available, I believe they should be sought out. If you are having difficulty in understanding this issue, I suggest you pray for clarity of God’s will in relation to women taking ABC. Sometimes this helps. God bless!

 

[NFPfamily]

Catholic2003:

As jmv surmised, I’m comparing the number of spontaneous abortions between using the pill and not using the pill. To me, this seems to be the logical comparison to make.

Going back to the burning building analogy, suppose that the fire department is on the scene, and the firefighters are divided between the two tasks of rescuing people in the building and putting out the fire. In the end, some people will die because they were not rescued and the fire in their part of the building was not put out.

If the fire chief determines that by reallocating more firefighters on the rescue efforts and fewer firefighters on putting out the fire, that more lives will be saved, then I think that the reallocation is moral and should be done. It doesn’t make any sense to argue that the reallocation is actually murder, because for the people who aren’t rescued, the probability of them dying in the fire is now higher because there are fewer firefighers working on putting out the fire.

Analogy key:

• people dying in the fire = spontaneous abortions
• reallocation of firefighters = using the pill
• people left in the building = ovulations that occur (and are fertilized)
• areas where the fire isn’t put out = implantation failures

I am only concerned with eggs which get fertilized. Preventing this by using ABC may lessen the chance of getting pregnant, but it still increases the risk of aborting the new life if pregnancy does occur. The difference in my mind is that it is unintended if the woman is not using ABC and if she is, then she may be accountable for causing it. Again, these are my opinions. I am very conservative on this issue because I have researched conditions and other treatment options. As a woman, I just can’t see taking the risk of possibly aborting a new life on any percentage scale, regardless of odds, etc. As I stated before, my only problem with this topic being discussed like this might open the door for someone looking for a loophole to take the pill, or feel less guilty about it. In any situation, it is my personal opinion that if there are treatments available that do not have abortifacient possibilities, then I think those should be pursued. I have come to these conclusions through prayer for understanding and suggest that to anyone who has trouble discerning this issue. God bless!

 

[jmv]

NFPfamily:

As I stated before, my only problem with this topic being discussed like this might open the door for someone looking for a loophole to take the pill, or feel less guilty about it. In any situation, it is my personal opinion that if there are treatments available that do not have abortifacient possibilities, then I think those should be pursued. I have come to these conclusions through prayer for understanding and suggest that to anyone who has trouble discerning this issue. God bless!

In the end, what matters is in the person’s heart and you are right to be concerned that we may be complicit with someone using this to rationalize using the pill for treatment when what they really want to also contracept.

That is also a danger for someone with pure intentions who is taking it for medical reasons; I’m sure they must fight to ensure that their motives stay pure. Hopefully they would search for alternatives though.

On a side note, does it seem to anybody else that the website for Pope Paul VI institute is a hodge-podge with no real info?

 

[Listener]

jmv:

On a side note, does it seem to anybody else that the website for Pope Paul VI institute is a hodge-podge with no real info?

I’m glad you mentioned that. The people on this formum keep pointing us to the Pope Paul VI Institute. Their Web Site is so poorly designed that I can’t imagine how anyone could actually get any information from it. Maybe someone could enlighten us on how to navigate this Web Site. I found it totally useless.

 

[NFPfamily]

Listener:

I’m glad you mentioned that. The people on this formum keep pointing us to the Pope Paul VI Institute. Their Web Site is so poorly designed that I can’t imagine how anyone could actually get any information from it. Maybe someone could enlighten us on how to navigate this Web Site. I found it totally useless.

I’m sorry; I meant to address this before when I read it, but forgot . I do think that the website is in MAJOR need of simplifying and easier navigation! That being said, the information anyone would need is there (although maybe difficult to find). The actual Institute itself is in Omaha Nebraska and there is a phone number listed to call for a consultation. There are also *Fertility Care Centers *across America that utilize the Naprotechnology instituted by Dr. Hilgers. I do recommend this center to people who are in need of its care, but sometimes I forget that I once had to trod through the confusion of the website to find the information I was looking for :banghead: . At any rate, they do a great service for our Church and health and should definitely be consulted if any of the above situations become an issue.