Contraception and Natural Family Planning

The Promises of Contraception Have
Failed
What What Pope Paul VI What Natural Family
Contraception warned Planning achieves
promised: contraception would instead:
lead to:
(1)Improved husband- (1)A barrier in the (1)Increased communication
wife relationships relationship between a between a husband and
(2)Less divorce with husband and wife wife
less family stress (2)More divorce (2)Less divorce
More promiscuity
(3)Women would be Less family stability
freed from male (3)An increase in women (3)Respects a woman’s
domination being seen as sexual bodily cycle and views her
(4) Less abortion and ‘objects’ as a ‘whole’
teenage pregnancy (4)More abortion
American studies have shown that the divorce rate among couples who use natural family planning is much
less than the divorce rate among couples who use artificial contraception. These studies are not religion
based and include many non-Catholics who follow natural family planning ‘fertility awareness’ methods.
One reason for this seems to be that NFP increases communication between a husband and wife. The
American figures, covering peoples of all religions:
Divorce rates, natural family planning: between 2 and 4%; Divorce rates, artificial
contraception: approx 50%
Source: Janet Smith, Humanae Vitae: A Generation Later (Washington DC: CUA Press, 1991), pp.109-128.
Why is artificial contraception a sin?

Contraception is a sin because it directly opposes one of the God-given
meanings of the sexual act.
Both marriage and sex have a meaning that exists before a couple get married
and before they engage in the act proper to marriage: sex. God has given us
this great gift and he intends us to use it in accordance with the purposes he
has established in it. Both marriage and sex are ordered to 2 things: union and
procreation. Concerning union: To seek sex without lifelong union is to oppose
the unitive purpose God has established in sex. Concerning procreation: Not
every marriage bears fruit in children, but every marriage remains ordered
towards children, and a marriage that intended to never have children would be
seriously lacking. Similarly, not every sexual act leads to children, but every
sexual act remains ordered towards children. To directly oppose the
procreative meaning by artificial contraception is to directly violate the meaning
of the act, to directly violate the gift of sex that God has given.
What is “Natural Family Planning”?

In Natural Family Planning a couple seek to postpone or avoid pregnancy but
seek to achieve this by using a method that respects the "nature" of the
marriage act. Whereas contraception changes the marital act by an action that
directly renders it infertile, in Natural Family Planning a couple do not directly
change the act itself. In NFP a couple abstain from sex when the wife is fertile,
and enjoy the marital embrace when she is not. This involves the couple
charting the medical signs that indicate the wife’s fertility.
In general, however, the procreation of new life is a good thing, and by getting married a
married couple commit themselves to "be fruitful and multiply"(Gen 1:28) and they should only
seek to avoid pregnancy for good reason.
What is the moral difference between Natural Family Planning and
Artificial Contraception?
 In contraception, the couple engage in an act that they have altered, altered in
a way that violates the inherent meaning of the sexual act which is both unitive
and procreative.
 In NFP, the couple either abstain from sexual intercourse, or, they engage in an
un-altered act of sexual intercourse: in both cases the acts that they do engage
in have not been altered in any way.
The higher divorce rate among couples who use artificial contraception is a sign (though admittedly not
a proof) that the separation of the unitive and procreative meanings of the marital act in contraception
tragically tends towards the separation of other things in a relationship.
Natural Family Planning: The Billings Ovulation
Method
Natural Family Planning provides a way for couples to keep track of their fertility
so that they are enabled to make decisions according to their situation at any
particular time. The Billings is a reliable, scientific method taught worldwide.
What NFP Involves:
• Self-Awareness: The fertility indicator this method is based on is cervical
mucus, which can be detected by women simply by training themselves to
become aware of it. There are no invasive or unpleasant procedures, no special
equipment, no hormonal tests.
• One-to-One Tuition: The best way to learn the method is through a series
of meetings with a qualified instructor who will teach individual women to chart
consistently and interpret correctly their own unique pattern of fertility and
infertility. The number of meetings will depend on individual circumstances,
and the teacher will be available for advice at any time even when the woman
has learnt to apply the method independently. (A possible alternative is online
teaching at www.woomb.org)
• Daily Charting: It’s very important to keep a chart to accurately record
observations every single evening because fertility is understood by watching
and interpreting a developing pattern, not by looking at individual days. Failure
to chart daily will affect the success of the method.
• Periodic Abstinence: The couple will be taught rules for the avoidance of
pregnancy: fertile days and days of potential fertility are not available for
intercourse unless they are happy to welcome a baby. (NB: the Billings is not
compatible with barrier methods).
• Communication and Cooperation: The charting merely provides
information: the couple then have to discuss whether to apply the rules for
avoidance of pregnancy on each particular cycle and choose a course of action
that they are both happy with, bearing in mind each other’s (and the whole
family’s) feelings and needs.
The pattern of cervical mucus observed and recorded by the woman is
determined by the changing levels of oestrogen in the ovaries and
therefore the chart gives an accurate picture of what is happening in
the woman’s body on any given day of the cycle.
Advantages of NFP:
 Promotes women's health: There is no intake of drugs or artificial
hormones; the Billings chart makes it possible to spot abnormalities and
provides very useful medical information.
 Better Relationships: NFP helps men and women to value and respect
themselves, their bodies, and the gift of each other in marriage. It helps
couples grow in self-mastery.
 Irregular Cycles: The Billings Ovulation Method can be used successfully
by women regardless of how regular their cycles are: it will work following
childbirth and while breastfeeding, when fertility is disrupted by stress/illness
and in the perimenopause.
 Infertility: It can help give couples with reduced fertility the best chance to
Does Natural Family Planning Work?

Modern NFP is much more effective than the old ‘rhythm method’, and is as reliable or
better than
any of the various methods of artificial contraception:
According to the American FDA, failure rates for different methods are:
Condoms: 3-15%; Oral Contraceptives (‘the pill’): 1-8%; Implants and injectables: 1-4%
According to NHS Direct:
NFP (‘fertility awareness’ methods): 1%
All the above methods depend on a couple actually following the method faithfully
For more detailed information, see: www.woomb.org, or www.usccb.org/prolife/issues/nfp/intronfp.shtml
conceive naturally.
The Billings Method teacher in our parish is Valeria Findlay-Wilson, Tel. 01747-
852125. There is a photo of her on the notice board in the porch and on the parish
website. The Billings organisation requires all its instructors (like Valeria) to follow
regular re-training sessions.

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What does the document discuss regarding the promises of contraception?

What are the main differences between Natural Family Planning and Artificial Contraception discussed in the document?

The Promises of Contraception Have

Why is artificial contraception a sin?

What is “Natural Family Planning”?

Does Natural Family Planning Work?

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