Valid Use of Birth Control?

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I have a friend who is considering joining The Church, but one of the major blocks for her is birth control. She told me before she was put on it, her cramps were so bad that she would sometimes pass out or throw up. Her doctor also warned her about something like endometriosis or something where bits of tissue could break off inside because of cramps. She asked me if it would be allowable for her to use birth control (the pill) just for medicinal purposes; relieving her cramps (she isn’t sexually active and she isn’t married). I said the pill was probably just masking the symptoms (because it seems that’s all the pill does) and that she aught to consult her doctor about treating the cause, but that I thought if there was no other way to help the cramps then this might be a valid use of birth control.

Then she asked me if she ever did get married, but still used the pill for these medicinal purposes, would that be ok. I said that the contraceptive results would be an unintended side effect, so she’d probably be fine. Then she asked “what if I was glad that it could be a simple way to space children?” and I said that might be getting into rockier waters.

My main questions are A) How have I done so far? Do my answers sound right? and B) Has anyone else delt with extreme cramping and not using the pill to alleviate it?

Thanks!
 
hi,

I think you have done great. However, there has to be an alternative way to avoid cramps. Our science is way too evolved for there not to be. By the way, I believe in order for it to be ok to use birth control for medicinal purposes not only does it have to be the only option but it also has to be a life threatening condition. I think she needs to do some heavy research on cramp avoidance and make sure that birth control is the only remedy and that most of all her condition is life threatening.
 
Humane Vitae
  1. The Church, on the contrary, does not at all consider illicit the use of those therapeutic means truly necessary to cure diseases of the organism, even if an impediment to procreation, which may be foreseen, should result therefore, provided such impediment is not, for whatever motive, directly willed.
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FatBoy said:
So, does the situation not have to be life threatening, is this a disease, and is it truly necessary?
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I am not sure to be honest. Since this is not a disease perhaps it would not fall under this category. I just posted it because it may or may not fit the situation. In any event, seek counsel before making any decisions (as usual).
 
You will notice that the condition of this woman is not being cured, the sympoms are being relieved . HV says **cure **and I don’t believe the Pope was referring to the pill as it wasn’t in common use at the time. He was referring to hysterectomy or removal of a tube due to ectopic pregnancy or radiation as a treatment to cure cancer.

Yes , this woman seems to have a disease. She should go to a doctor who will try to cure her. Not just hide and alleviate her symptoms. An NFP only doctor if possible.They say that they have never found it necessary to prescribe the pill.
Try a source like this one-

omsoul.com/nfp-only.php

Technically as long as she is not married and not sexually active it isn’t a problem. She is not practicing contraception therefore she is in line with church teaching. This still doesn’t make it the best choice for her health.
 
Actually she does not need to be in immediate danger of death and it actually wouldn’t matter if she was sexually active. She is using it for theraputic purposes and the side effect is infertility. Your friend is not using it for BC purposes and it does not fall under the category of ABC but more double effect because it is not her intention to render herself infertile. Many drs use the pill to shrink cysts and other problems like endometriosis or severe cramps which i had as a child and had the same vomitting passing out issues as your friend. I wish my mom would have taken me to the gynocologist or soemthing for some relief. :rolleyes:
 
There is no better way to prevent cramps. I have terrible cramps that make me pass out as well, and I have talked to many many doctors who say birth control pills are the most effective medication.
 
FatBoy said:
hi,

I think you have done great. However, there has to be an alternative way to avoid cramps. Our science is way too evolved for there not to be.

But it seems that everyone I talk to can’t come up with anything else. There is another thread that talks about this. My cramps are only relieved by the pill or being pregnant.

By the way, I believe in order for it to be ok to use birth control for medicinal purposes not only does it have to be the only option but it also has to be a life threatening condition. I think she needs to do some heavy research on cramp avoidance and make sure that birth control is the only remedy and that most of all her condition is life threatening.
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It does not have to be a life threatening condition.

What this friend is doing is fine.
 
and it actually wouldn’t matter if she was sexually active.
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You right it wouldn’t matter regarding the pill question. There would be the matter of fornication however.
 
I have a similar problem as your friend. After a small surgery, my OBGYN was able to determine that I have something called Chronic Pelvic Congestion Syndrome. It equates to chronic pain during ovulation and menses. Sometimes the pain is debilitating.

According to my doctor, there isn’t much that can be done. He is NOT a NFP OBGYN; however, he admitted that only sometimes does “the pill” help to allevite the symptoms but so does some over the counter pain medication which I would only have to take when symptoms occur.

He said eventually I will have to have a hysterectomy as the pain will probably get progressively worse. Beyond that, there is not much that can be done.

So I would say that your friend needs to be seeing an OBGYN who is aware and understanding that she is against contracepting. She then needs to seek out WHY she is having these pains. There IS an answer and she should never be satisfied with somebody telling her what it might be. Nor should she be satisfied with a doctor who is only willing to prescribe a pill for symptoms from an unknown cause. If they suspect endometiosis, then find out for sure! There are other things they can do to help with the pain besides “the pill”.

Needless to say, I am not on the pill for my sympoms. But that was a decision I made after much prayer, and finally accepting God’s will and not my own selfish one. I believe in my heart that this is not a good enough reason to contracept. Some days I have to stay laying down with a heating pad while popping some OTC pain pills and my hubby has to take care of dinner and the kids. So the laundry waits a few days and then beds don’t get made. Small sacrifice when I consider the alternative! I have never once regretted the decision to stay away from the pill.

Your friend will be in my prayers as will you as you!
 
marybee said:
Actually she does not need to be in immediate danger of death and it actually wouldn’t matter if she was sexually active. She is using it for theraputic purposes and the side effect is infertility. Your friend is not using it for BC purposes and it does not fall under the category of ABC but more double effect because it is not her intention to render herself infertile. Many drs use the pill to shrink cysts and other problems like endometriosis or severe cramps which i had as a child and had the same vomitting passing out issues as your friend. I wish my mom would have taken me to the gynocologist or soemthing for some relief. :rolleyes:
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It would matter if she was sexually active because of the possible abortifacient factor. And again , HV says ‘cure’ . It doesn’t say mask symptoms. Go and listen to the archives this month of Catholic Answers. They have a show with an NFP doctor who says (and he is not alone) that there are no medical reasons that require the pill. He and the others have sucessfully treated all the usual diseases without it. Doctors over use it because they do not have the time, don’t want to spend the insurance company money or can’t be bothered to try and figure out what is really wrong.
 
Rawb said:
I have a friend who is considering joining The Church, but one of the major blocks for her is birth control. She told me before she was put on it, her cramps were so bad that she would sometimes pass out or throw up. Her doctor also warned her about something like endometriosis or something where bits of tissue could break off inside because of cramps. She asked me if it would be allowable for her to use birth control (the pill) just for medicinal purposes; relieving her cramps (she isn’t sexually active and she isn’t married). I said the pill was probably just masking the symptoms (because it seems that’s all the pill does) and that she aught to consult her doctor about treating the cause, but that I thought if there was no other way to help the cramps then this might be a valid use of birth control.

Then she asked me if she ever did get married, but still used the pill for these medicinal purposes, would that be ok. I said that the contraceptive results would be an unintended side effect, so she’d probably be fine. Then she asked “what if I was glad that it could be a simple way to space children?” and I said that might be getting into rockier waters.

My main questions are A) How have I done so far? Do my answers sound right? and B) Has anyone else delt with extreme cramping and not using the pill to alleviate it?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Teresa Tomeo had a doctor on her show this morning who does work with the very problems you are speaking of. Sounds like they have a way to diagnose/help/cure most of these types of problems.

teresatomeo.com/
 
Rawb said:
I have a friend who is considering joining The Church, but one of the major blocks for her is birth control. She told me before she was put on it, her cramps were so bad that she would sometimes pass out or throw up. Her doctor also warned her about something like endometriosis or something where bits of tissue could break off inside because of cramps. She asked me if it would be allowable for her to use birth control (the pill) just for medicinal purposes; relieving her cramps (she isn’t sexually active and she isn’t married). I said the pill was probably just masking the symptoms (because it seems that’s all the pill does) and that she aught to consult her doctor about treating the cause, but that I thought if there was no other way to help the cramps then this might be a valid use of birth control.

Then she asked me if she ever did get married, but still used the pill for these medicinal purposes, would that be ok. I said that the contraceptive results would be an unintended side effect, so she’d probably be fine. Then she asked “what if I was glad that it could be a simple way to space children?” and I said that might be getting into rockier waters.

My main questions are A) How have I done so far? Do my answers sound right? and B) Has anyone else delt with extreme cramping and not using the pill to alleviate it?

Thanks!
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I say absolutely not to the pill, it is not to be used; besides, if she became pregnant the pill can likely have nasty side effects on the baby, and the pill, as we know, can cause abortion.

I can relate with the severe cramps as mine are on the verge of unbearable, however, I do not, nor would I ever take the pill. I haven’t researched this topic much, but I’ve *heard *that their are alternatives to the pill. She should really look into it.
 
I think this woman has a good reason to take the pill. One of the posters said that the pill was not in common use when Humane Vitae came out. This is not correct. When I got my first job in the early 1960’s, it seems that all my female coworkers did all day was discuss the birth control pills that they were on. When the pope came out with Humane Vitae, many Catholic women were expecting that he would approve the pill. They were greatly disappointed when he didn’t. However, the priests at the time always said that women could use it for medical reasons such as pain and regulating their periods.

While the pill won’t cure such things as endometriosis, I do believe that it can prevent it from getting worse. Ovulation starts the process of building up all that junk in the uterus. If you’re not ovulating, the buildup won’t occur.

I know what I’m talking about, since I had terrible periods and ended up with a hysterectomy. I understand what these women are going through. If a more “natural” cure exists even today, I would sure be interested in knowing specifically what it is.
 
Yes as has been stated here, I would caution her against using the pill. Especially if it is a high-dose progesterone pill - they can and do function by preventing implantation of the embryo (it is not the only way they work, but it does happen).

I don’t think prevention of cramps by use of the pill can properly be argued, by the double effect or any other means, as an excuse for an abortion (however unintentional).
 
Been there, done that (or least my wife has). I think we have to try to treat these problems without giving ourselves problems like Catholic wives taking abortifacient pills.

However, in our long experience, these “NFP doctors” don’t really know anything about treating such conditions and, when pressed, they will blame the lack of basic research (after all, the pill “cures” these things, so why research anything else?).

For many women, it still comes down to a choice between intense pain and becoming involved in practices of very questionable morality and very questionable medical wisdom.
 
To those who think it’s okay to take the pill in this circumstance, I’d like to see a Church document that supports that worldly opinion? “Take up your cross and follow me.” If there’s not a moral way to relieve the pain, in this case or any, then I suggest taking the words of Jesus over the words of a quick-fix world.
 
latinmasslover said:
To those who think it’s okay to take the pill in this circumstance, I’d like to see a Church document that supports that worldly opinion? “Take up your cross and follow me.” If there’s not a moral way to relieve the pain, in this case or any, then I suggest taking the words of Jesus over the words of a quick-fix world.
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Did you read post three?
HailMary Humane Vitae
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Quote:
15. The Church, on the contrary, does not at all consider illicit the use of those therapeutic means truly necessary to cure diseases of the organism, even if an impediment to procreation, which may be foreseen, should result therefore, provided such impediment is not, for whatever motive, directly willed.
Click to expand...
 
Birth control pills have never been shown to improve endometriosis (see the Cochrane Medical Library for sources.)
Birth control pills are not 100% effective in preventing ovulation: if pregnancy occurs, they are abortifacient. Therefore, if used as a therapy, the couple must practice abstinence while on this therapy.
 
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