When is Birth Control allowable?

[Honus]

I’m pretty familiar with the Church’s teaching on birth control. My question is based on the scenario where the woman is on medication that would cause serious birth defects if she got pregnant (and getting off of the medicine is not an option due to the underlying health issue). Obviously someone on that type of medicine only takes it when they have too.

The only priest I talked to on this issue was not able (or did not want to) give an answer.

What is your understanding on this issue? Is BC allowable in this case?

 

[Brenda_V]

No. The husband and wife must use the most conservative rules of whatever plan of NFP they are using or abstain indefinitely!

There is no form of BC that is 100% effective. The only 100% effective means of preventing a pregnancy is total abstinence.

Others will surely come in and give you the documents on this but the above is the short and simple answer to your question.

Brenda V.

 

[FanChan]

BC is not allowable in this or any scenario. If there is fear of having children with birth defects, then the couple are called to chastity, or at the very least to practice NFP. God will take care of them. Who knows, maybe in practicing NFP, they conceive and have a healthy baby, something that wouldn’t happen while using BC. If someone doesn’t want to take the risk, then they can abstain from the act that causes the risk.

 

[1ke]

I’m pretty familiar with the Church’s teaching on birth control. My question is based on the scenario where the woman is on medication that would cause serious birth defects if she got pregnant (and getting off of the medicine is not an option due to the underlying health issue). Obviously someone on that type of medicine only takes it when they have too.

The only priest I talked to on this issue was not able (or did not want to) give an answer.

What is your understanding on this issue? Is BC allowable in this case?

What do you mean by “birth control?”

If you mean contraception, the answer is that contraception is never a moral option. It’s intrinsically evil.

If you mean avoiding pregnancy, then yes one may do that through abstinence-- either total or periodic through the observation of fertility signs (natural family planning).

 

[rolltidefan]

BC is not allowable in this or any scenario. If there is fear of having children with birth defects, then the couple are called to chastity, or at the very least to practice NFP. God will take care of them. Who knows, maybe in practicing NFP, they conceive and have a healthy baby, something that wouldn’t happen while using BC. If someone doesn’t want to take the risk, then they can abstain from the act that causes the risk.

Not sure who gave you this information, but I have a perfectly healthy 14 year old boy that was conceived while taking BC. So this information is not true. I also work in the medical field where I see this happen all the time.

 

[FanChan]

Not sure who gave you this information, but I have a perfectly healthy 14 year old boy that was conceived while taking BC. So this information is not true. I also work in the medical field where I see this happen all the time.

I didn’t mean it to come out sounding like it’s impossible to conceive while on BC. But that doesn’t change the purpose of what I was saying.

 

[rayne89]

Artificial birth control is not allowable in the prevention of conception for any reason. Natural family planning which is very accurate when done properly is allowed.

I am on medication which causes birth defects for my heart condition. A heart condition that would make a pregnancy at this point in my life almost certainly fatal. I have used natural family planning for 12 years without pregnancy.

 

[chevalier]

I’m pretty familiar with the Church’s teaching on birth control. My question is based on the scenario where the woman is on medication that would cause serious birth defects if she got pregnant (and getting off of the medicine is not an option due to the underlying health issue). Obviously someone on that type of medicine only takes it when they have too.

The only priest I talked to on this issue was not able (or did not want to) give an answer.

What is your understanding on this issue? Is BC allowable in this case?

You must first see the difference between birth control and the medical use of the same drugs. If you need the medical effect, which is not connected with avoiding pregnancy, e.g. when a woman is having very painful periods that don’t allow her to function normally - obviously when the doctor tells her so, not when she thinks that’s the case, then you are allowed to take that drug. However, the fact that you need that drug does not mean you need birth control. Birth control is never allowable, whereas taking the very same drug for real medical reasons may be allowable.

 

[CuriousInIL]

If there is fear of having children with birth defects, then the couple are called to chastity, or at the very least to practice NFP.

We are all always called to chastity–what chastity entails differs with our position in life. Chastity for a married couple is different than for a single person.

Birth control is never allowable, whereas taking the very same drug for real medical reasons may be allowable.

This is not true. We must be careful with terminology. Birth control is a broader term that just means some level of attempted control over the chances for pregnancy (and thus birth) and includes, for example, not only contraception, but also NFP, total abstinence, active attempts at conception, etc. Therefore, depending upon the reasons and the means, birth control may or may not be allowable. As noted in another post:

What do you mean by “birth control?”

If you mean contraception, the answer is that contraception is never a moral option. It’s intrinsically evil.

If you mean avoiding pregnancy, then yes one may do that through abstinence-- either total or periodic through the observation of fertility signs (natural family planning).

 

[chevalier]

This is not true. We must be careful with terminology. Birth control is a broader term that just means some level of attempted control over the chances for pregnancy (and thus birth) and includes, for example, not only contraception, but also NFP, total abstinence, active attempts at conception, etc. Therefore, depending upon the reasons and the means, birth control may or may not be allowable. As noted in another post:

It’s an unusual usage of the expression “birth control”, but yes, it may be construed to include NFP (allowed with sufficient cause) or attempts at conception (allowed except in vitro and similar methods).