Secular Criticism of Contraception

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Contraception is as old as human sexual relationships-
Correct. That’s why Judaism, Catholicism, and Islam have had teachings regarding contraception for as long as they have been around.

What do you think, these folks are purposely making things difficult to win converts and fatten their bank accounts?
only recently has it become mass produced and made more accessible. What changed? It seems likely that people demanded more, so the market obliged.
Sounds right to me.
 
NFP is bad for families when misused.

ABC changes God’s design. The Catholic Church is the last major hold-out that has not caved on this 3000 year old Jewish teaching.

Everything but the main thing.
Lots of things change God’s design, prosthetics, medicines, genetically modified food, for that matter even selective breeding, if you view it that way.

Or you can say that our ability to eventually learn how to modify our bodies is a part of God’s design.

Your point that NFP can be bad for families is just what I’m saying, NFP and condoms, say, can be used for good and bad reasons.
 
Yesss! I am liking these discussions. Very enlightening. For me, I have obtained the information I was seeking.

Here are my basic conclusions…
  1. Birth control has produced numerous problems in society, particularly involving the break–up of the family unit in recent times. (Perhaps it may be a good idea for me to do some research on this, to produce concrete examples–shouldn’t be too hard, with the brilliance of Pope Paul VI on my side!)
  2. Contraception prevents the production of life (when, if left alone, the action would produce life). Life is a fundamental, infinitely valuable good. Intentionally denying that good is evil.
Thank you, from both sides!

P.S. There have been some questions about the difference between NFP and birth control. The difference is this:

Artificial birth control requires a deliberate act to fundamentally alter the marital act and its consequences. NFP preserves the sanctity of sex by respecting its place and nature. Natural Family Planning requires of each spouse periods of responsible abstinence. This chastity is a sign of the mutual respect shown by spouses to the other’s sexuality. This self-giving love is a safeguard against selfish desires of pleasure. The same cannot be said about artificial birth control.

Thanks again, everybody. There were really intellectual answers from both sides. You may address my post if you like, but honestly, I am signing off from this conversation. Let it live for as long as it is useful!

God bless,
Koopa 👍👍👍
 
Yesss! I am liking these discussions. Very enlightening. For me, I have obtained the information I was seeking.

Here are my basic conclusions…
  1. Birth control has produced numerous problems in society, particularly involving the break–up of the family unit in recent times. (Perhaps it may be a good idea for me to do some research on this, to produce concrete examples–shouldn’t be too hard, with the brilliance of Pope Paul VI on my side!)
I think if you were going to claim that, you would have a hard time finding evidence for it. How do you prove something like that?

You could argue that birth control has allowed women to have careers, and financially independent women were no longer trapped in bad marriages hence increased in divorce rate.

Successful methods of NFP on a wide scale came after the pill as far as I know, NFP in principle can have the exact same effect as birth control both in terms of promiscuity and liberating women.

Even then, you’d have arguments, but are they good arguments? Are there countries in the world today where birth control either doesn’t exist/is forbidden? If there are, I am guessing these are third world nations or repressive Muslim countries, so you can’t really compare them to us.
 
NFP in principle can have the exact same effect as birth control both in terms of promiscuity and liberating women.
You’re overstating things a bit. Because NFP does not protect against STDs and requires a good level of cooperation and understanding between partners about the timing of sex, it is, by nature, best suited for couples in a long term monogamous relationship. This is not so with artificial birth control, which requires no cooperation between partners and allows for spontaneous, protected intercourse (with condoms).
 
Well, contraception became legal in 1963, and the “sexual revolution” dates to 1968, so - you do the math. 🤷
Why did it become legal? Since the government is composed of elected representatives, I would assume it’s because people wanted it to be legal.
 
Correct. That’s why Judaism, Catholicism, and Islam have had teachings regarding contraception for as long as they have been around.

What do you think, these folks are purposely making things difficult to win converts and fatten their bank accounts?

Sounds right to me.
So, it seems, you agree that contraception became widespread because society shifted, not the other way around.
 
Why did it become legal? Since the government is composed of elected representatives, I would assume it’s because people wanted it to be legal.
Actually, the it was the U.S. Supreme Court that struck down laws banning birth control in 1965 (married persons) and 1972 (unmarried persons). The elected representatives enacted the laws. The independent, appointed judiciary struck them down. Now, of course, this says nothing of what the people “wanted”… it just shows that those assumptions are a bit off.
 
Actually, the it was the U.S. Supreme Court that struck down laws banning birth control in 1965 (married persons) and 1972 (unmarried persons). The elected representatives enacted the laws. The independent, appointed judiciary struck them down. Now, of course, this says nothing of what the people “wanted”… it just shows that those assumptions are a bit off.
Mea culpa- but in any event, firms generally don’t start producing things when they don’t feel there is a demand.
 
I think if you were going to claim that, you would have a hard time finding evidence for it. How do you prove something like that?
Actually, I think it would be pretty easy to compare the statistics of high-school drop-out rates, divorce, and availability of prostitution from the decades previous to the legalization of birth control, to those in the decades after.
You could argue that birth control has allowed women to have careers, and financially independent women were no longer trapped in bad marriages hence increased in divorce rate.
That could be one reason for the increased divorce rate. Another reason could be that since chemical birth control reduces the sex drive in women, women were no longer attracted to marriage, and men were not interested in sex-less marriages.
Successful methods of NFP on a wide scale came after the pill as far as I know, NFP in principle can have the exact same effect as birth control both in terms of promiscuity and liberating women.
I’m not sure how it would increase promiscuity, since NFP depends on regular communication between the couple, which presumes, at the very least, a long-term relationship.
Even then, you’d have arguments, but are they good arguments? Are there countries in the world today where birth control either doesn’t exist/is forbidden? If there are, I am guessing these are third world nations or repressive Muslim countries, so you can’t really compare them to us.
Ireland and Poland are first-world countries where birth control is illegal, and women are able to have careers and are treated equally under the law. Ireland has even had female Prime Ministers.
 
Actually, I think it would be pretty easy to compare the statistics of high-school drop-out rates, divorce, and availability of prostitution from the decades previous to the legalization of birth control, to those in the decades after.
Right, but that wouldn’t mean you’ve shown causation, or even a mechanism for how it could be caused. Maybe in the case of prostitution there is an obvious mechanism for how the availability of birth control/protection from STD’s might increase prostitution.

High school drop out rates? Pretty hard to think of a causal mechanism there.
That could be one reason for the increased divorce rate. Another reason could be that since chemical birth control reduces the sex drive in women, women were no longer attracted to marriage, and men were not interested in sex-less marriages.
Well, I don’t know to what extent that’s true. Is a reduction in sex drive significant? Is it a common side effect? Again, hormonal methods aren’t the only methods.

I actually as a woman will never use hormonal birth control because of side effects, but would opt for condoms/sterilization/NFP.

This argument might be against a particular method of birth control, not birth control in general.

I also question the idea that women get married because they want sex.
I’m not sure how it would increase promiscuity, since NFP depends on regular communication between the couple, which presumes, at the very least, a long-term relationship.
A woman measures her temperature/mucus or whatever the method requires and knows when she can sleep around with minimal risk of pregnancy.

I can see the argument about STD’s, still, the woman could have some “tested” friends with benefits or whatever for casual sex if she wanted.
Ireland and Poland are first-world countries where birth control is illegal, and women are able to have careers and are treated equally under the law. Ireland has even had female Prime Ministers.
Huh? Birth control is not illegal in Ireland or Poland. Can you find me a link that states this, or that if such a law is on the books that it’s actually enforced?

I tried googling it, but nothing. Are you seriously claiming that it’s illegal to use condoms in Ireland or Poland?

But right, NFP can work just as well at liberating women as artificial birth control. I’m obviously talking about average. There might be some single women, or some infertile women, or some women who despite the odds have the energy for a large family/frequent pregnancy and a career. On average though, women tend to have partners, and multiple pregnancies and children tend to hurt a woman’s ability to succeed professionally.
 
Lots of things change God’s design, prosthetics, medicines, genetically modified food, for that matter even selective breeding, if you view it that way.

Or you can say that our ability to eventually learn how to modify our bodies is a part of God’s design.

Your point that NFP can be bad for families is just what I’m saying, NFP and condoms, say, can be used for good and bad reasons.
What would a good reason for using a condom be?

It certainly doesn’t add anything positive to the marital act.

Most married couple will not tolerate them. If fact, of all the couples I know, married and unmarried that feel the need to tell me about their sex lives, none of them use condoms. Not one.
 
What would a good reason for using a condom be?

It certainly doesn’t add anything positive to the marital act.

Most married couple will not tolerate them. If fact, of all the couples I know, married and unmarried that feel the need to tell me about their sex lives, none of them use condoms. Not one.
Your personal experience aside, condoms reduce the probability of conception when conception is not desired. Also, if one partner has an STD, condoms are useful in that respect as well.
 
What would a good reason for using a condom be?

It certainly doesn’t add anything positive to the marital act.

Most married couple will not tolerate them. If fact, of all the couples I know, married and unmarried that feel the need to tell me about their sex lives, none of them use condoms. Not one.
Some women desire sex the most during fertile time, for those women NFP would be impractical since it would require abstinence at the time when they’re most interested in sex.

Some women have issues with their cycles that makes NFP fail for them, or so I hear, it also wouldn’t be practical for them to use NFP.

Sometimes a couple using NFP might want to have sex during a fertile time, so a condom would be useful in that situation.

Long term condoms are impractical, and sterilization would be preferred (by me, obviously) after children are no longer a consideration.
 
Some women desire sex the most during fertile time, for those women NFP would be impractical since it would require abstinence at the time when they’re most interested in sex.
Within a marriage, you would only use NFP when it was absolutely imperative that you not bring another child into the family. Most of the time, the “winging it” method (where you accept the children who come into the family) is fine.
Some women have issues with their cycles that makes NFP fail for them, or so I hear, it also wouldn’t be practical for them to use NFP.
You might be thinking of the rhythm method - NFP takes into account that women have different cycles; it doesn’t depend on them being regular.
Sometimes a couple using NFP might want to have sex during a fertile time, so a condom would be useful in that situation.
A condom would totally take the spontaneity out of it - if you have to wait for the condom, you can wait an extra day and go natural. 🙂
 
Within a marriage, you would only use NFP when it was absolutely imperative that you not bring another child into the family. Most of the time, the “winging it” method (where you accept the children who come into the family) is fine.
Most people don’t want large families however, so “winging it” would not suit their life goals.
You might be thinking of the rhythm method - NFP takes into account that women have different cycles; it doesn’t depend on them being regular.
I’m really going by some posts on this forum by people who claim that after going to various NFP teachers they can’t make it work for them, or have to abstain for something like 90% of the month.
A condom would totally take the spontaneity out of it - if you have to wait for the condom, you can wait an extra day and go natural. 🙂
It doesn’t take that long to put it on 😛
 
Most people don’t want large families however, so “winging it” would not suit their life goals.
You would be amazed at what I have seen mothers of large families achieve. Just this morning I was listening to a talk given by a mother of eight children who had both a law degree and a psychology degree, who is earning quite a hefty pay cheque, so as to keep all of her kids in style. Of course, they have a nanny, but a nanny costs the same whether there are eight children, or only one. It is really not that much more expensive, to have more children. 🙂
It doesn’t take that long to put it on 😛
It sure can seem like it, though. 😛
 
You would be amazed at what I have seen mothers of large families achieve. Just this morning I was listening to a talk given by a mother of eight children who had both a law degree and a psychology degree, who is earning quite a hefty pay cheque, so as to keep all of her kids in style. Of course, they have a nanny, but a nanny costs the same whether there are eight children, or only one. It is really not that much more expensive, to have more children. 🙂
Some people are extremely productive, most of us would not be able to have 8 children and earn 2 advanced degrees.
 
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