Victor R. Claveau, MJ
Prior to the Lambeth Conference held in England in 1930, every Christian body condemned the practice of artificial birth control. Today, on this issue, the Catholic Church once again stands alone. God alone is the author of life. The most dramatic example is the holocaust of abortion. God commands that we shall not kill (murder) the innocent for any reason. Is a child’s life any less worthwhile because he or she was conceived by rape or incest? Why condemn the child for the sin of the parents? Only the Catholic Church teaches that all human life is sacred from birth to natural death. History may be distorted, but facts cannot be set aside by capricious whim.
The Catholic Church cannot and will not equivocate when it comes to the teachings of Christ. She alone is the voice of Christ in the world. Her voice will always ring out in protest of the violations of God’s commandments. Does this not demonstrate the character of the Church?
Artificial ccontraception includes sterilization, condoms and other barrier methods, spermicides, coitus interruptus (withdrawal method), the Pill, and any and all other such methods.
The Church’s teaching on the Love of a Husband and Wife is found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC),§2360 & §2399, which speaks of responsible moral behavior within the scope of the marriage covenant, for example:
“Called to give life, spouses share in the creative power and fatherhood of God. Married couples should regard it as their proper mission to transmit human life and to educate their children; they should realize that they are thereby cooperating with the love of God the Creator and are, in a certain sense, its interpreters. They will fulfill this duty with a sense of human and Christian responsibility.
“A particular aspect of this responsibility concerns the regulation of procreation. For just reasons, spouses may wish to space the births of their children. It is their duty to make certain that their desire is not motivated by selfishness but is in conformity with the generosity appropriate to responsible parenthood. Moreover, they should conform their behavior to the objective criteria of morality.”[1]
The Church does teach the acceptability of regulating births in a natural way, i.e., abstaining from the marital act during periods of fertility. As a matter of fact, the natural regulation of births represents one of the aspects of responsible fatherhood and motherhood. There are times when there are serious reasons why a couple should either delay conception or even eliminate the possibility altogether.
The U.S. Department of Health defines an abortifacient procedure as:
“All the measures which impair the ability of the zygote (fertilized egg) at any time between the instant of fertilization and the completion of labor constitute, in the strict sense, procedures for inducing abortion.”[2]
“When a human egg joins with a human sperm (an action known as fertilization), a new 46-chromosomed human being is conceived. By exploiting the hollow and deceptive corridors of language, however, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology decided to redefine the term ‘conception’ over forty years ago, coincidently at the same time that artificial birth control was first being promoted. The new terminology defined conception as occurring not at fertilization, but at the implantation of a blastocyst on the uterine wall, an action which typically occurs a full 1-2 weeks after that new 46-chromosomed human being comes into existence at fertilization.”[3]
Almost nine in 10 women who are at risk of unintended pregnancy (women who are sexually active, able to become pregnant, and neither pregnant nor trying to become pregnant) are using a contraceptive method.[4]
The pill acts in three basic ways: (This information can be obtained from any standard reference work, such as the Physician’s Desk Reference).[5]
Combination oral contraceptives (COCs) act by:
- Suppressing the ovary production of gonadotropins, which suppresses ovulation. Simply put, COCs are supposed to prevent the body from releasing an egg.
- They also thicken the woman’s cervical mucus, which makes it more difficult for sperm to reach the egg.
- Finally, they alter the lining of the uterus so that the zygote (fertilized egg, the first stage in the life of a human being) cannot implant. The developing baby receives his oxygen and nutrition through the uterus, so if the zygote-baby cannot implant, he starves to death. This is, therefore, an abortion.
“There are basically three types of birth control pills:
- high-dose, progestin and estrogen;
- low-dose, about half as much progestin and estrogen;
- and the mini-pill, small amount of progestin, no estrogen.
“The early high-dose birth control pills acted primarily by suppressing ovulation. Studies found that these pills succeeded in preventing ovulation somewhere between 90 and 98% of the time. However, high-estrogen pills are no longer available in Canada or the United States.”[6] However, since October 1988, high-estrogen pills are no longer available in the United States.[7]
“Initial studies showed that even the early ‘pill’ formulations (which were much more likely to suppress ovulation due to their higher doses of estrogen) still allowed ‘breakthrough ovulation’ to occur 13% of the time! An award-winning study by the Dutch gynecologist Dr. Nine Van der Vange presented at the Second International Conference of the Society for Advancement in Contraception (SAC) in Jakarta showed that low-dose contraceptive pills do not always suppress ovulation. In follicular ultrasound measurements, she found detectable follicular growth in 52 to 56% of the cycles investigated, and preovulatory size follicles in at least 30% of the cycles. Proof of ovulation based on ultrasound exams and hormonal indicators occurred in about 4% of the cycles studied. In summarizing her presentation before the Society, Dr. Van der Vange remarked, ‘We conclude that the contraceptive preparations are more complex than has been thought. They are not only based on inhibition of ovulation.’”[8] [9]
Dr. Ronald Chez, a scientist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), publicly stated that the ‘pills’ of today, with their lower estrogen dose, allow ovulation up to 50% of the time! Dr. Thomas Hilgers, the renowned fertility expert who is currently the Director of the Pope Paul VI Research Institute, was present when this statement was made but the NIH has never published this information. In fact, the NIH has been more than a little hesitant to publish specific data in the medical journals to which private MDs have access. The drug companies are similarly reticent to provide such data. Nevertheless, the scientist mentioned above was at that time the head of the pregnancy research development branch of the NIH, itself the spearhead for contemporary medical research!”[10]
Another recognized study estimated that “OCs have a breakthrough ovulation rate of between 2 to 10%.[11] Using these estimates”, Dr. Bogomir M. Kohar, calculated “a 2% ovulation rate yields 2000,000 ovulatory cycles. It is also known that in any given cycle, there is a 25% overall conception rate for ‘normally fertile couples of average sexual activity.’[12] Multiplying the two yields a result of 50,000 chemical abortions per cycle or 600,000 per annum. A 10% rate yields 1,000,000 ovulatory cycles multiplied by the 25% conception rate for a resulting 250,000 chemical abortions per cycle or 3,000,000 per annum. Thus, we have a range of 600,000 to 3 million chemical abortions per annum in the USA based on 1996 usage of OCs.”[13] According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 31 % of women between the ages of 15 and 44 (11.7 million) use OCs as their primary method of birth control.[14] Using these figures, it means that a woman using OCs has a between .05 and 25.6% chance of chemically aborting at least one child per year. Although this might seem to be a small percentage risk, over time the likelihood is great. Moreover, there really is no such thing as a ‘negligible’ risk of aborting a baby. In this case, any risk is too great.
Many women who would never consider a surgical abortion now use low-dose birth control pills. In his book, The Facts of Life: An Authoritative Guide to Life and Family Issues, Dr. Brian Clowes explains how a large number of women who identify themselves as pro-life use these pills:
“This means that ‘pro-life’ women who are using an oral contraceptive, or some other means of abortifacient birth control, are committing abortions themselves on a frequent basis. These abortions are “silent” and unseen, but they are no less abortions in the eyes of God than are gruesome third-trimester D&X (partial birth) abortions. There are many ‘pro-lifers’ who are using these pills and who are involved in their promotion and distribution. These people must consider whether they can, in good conscience, criticize women whose action differs from their own only in that they have to drive to a ‘clinic’ (mill) to commit it.”[15]
Most couples have never heard this information before, and for some the enormity of the possibility of having aborted one or more children while on the pill is absolutely stunning.
[1] Ibid, §§2367-2368.
[2] Public Health Service, Leaflet No. 1066, U.S. Dept. of Health Education and Welfare, 1963, 27.
[3] Burke, Theresa, Ph.D., The Contraception of Grief: The Genesis of Anguish Conceived by Abortifacients and Sterilization, (published by Priests for Life). (Referencing ACOG Terminology Bulletin. Terms used in reference to the fetus. Chicago, ACOG, no.1, September 1965).
[4] Mosher WD et al., Use of contraception and use of family planning services in the United States: 1982–2002, Advance Data from Vital and Health Statistics, No. 350, 2004.
[5] Physician’s Desk Reference 2008, Thomson Healthcare Inc., Montvale, NJ 2007, p. 777.
[6] Abortion Methods, Abortifacient Contraceptives, http://www.lifesitenews.com/abortiontypes/pillabortion_types.html
[7] Danforth’s Obstetrics and Gynecology (Philadelphia, PA: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1994, 7th edition), p. 626.
[8] Dr. Nine Van der Vange (ed. G. Chamberlain), “Ovarian activity during low-dose contraceptives,” Contemporary Obstetrics and Gynecology (London: Butterworths, 1988).
[9] Sterns, David, M.D., Sterns, Gina, R.N., B.S.N., Yaksich, Pamela, “How the Pill and the IUD Work: Gambling with Life” (American Life League, P.O. Box 1350, Stafford, VA 22555, http://www.lifeandlibertyministries.com/archives/000185.php.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Peel, J. and Potts, M, Textbook and contraceptive technology, pp 98-90, (1964), Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
[12] Kippley, JF. The Pill and Early Abortion. ALL About Issues. 1989; 4:22-23/
[13] Kumar et al.; “Infant Homicides through Contraceptives”; International Pharmacists for Life; 5th edition, 2003, pp. 42-43.
[14] CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Press Release, Teens Delaying Sexual Activity; Using Contraception More Effectively, December 10, 2004.
[15] Brian Clowes, Ph.D., The Facts of Life: An Authoritative Guide to Life and Family Issues, Human Life International, (pp. 74-75).