Villarreal 1

Maegan Villarreal
Mr. Munoz
English IV DC
9 January 2015
Senior Thesis
It is a Saturday afternoon and Teresa and Steven have just been married through the
Catholic Church in the sacrament of matrimony. They return home after their reception where
they are encountered with the decision to use contraception as they prepare to have sexual
intercourse for the first time. They have followed all the teaching of the Church regarding their
marriage to this point in time, but now another moral impediment comes into play. That same
afternoon, a young couple in the dating stage of their relationship has also decided to partake in
sexual intercourse. Although the couple is young and not married therefore going against the
Church's teaching of abstinence, they are faced with the same decision; to use a form of
contraception or not."I'm not ready to start a family.""Is it really bad to use a condom?""How
great of a sin would it be to just take birth control?" Contraception is the deliberate prevention
with reference to conception or impregnation by means of a number of medications, procedures,
or devices more notoriously known as birth control. It is at this point in time that contraception
has become a well-known and talked about controversial issue in the Catholic Church. This issue
ultimately divides all members of the Church who hold different standpoints on the subject
matter. Contraception has in due course been a controversial topic not only for the Catholic
Church, but for all religions since the beginning of time because of the fact it goes against moral
belief. Throughout the years, contraception has evolved drastically along with the amount of

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controversy that coincides with the practice of it. Contraception degrades human nature by
minimizing the importance of human life as well as the two ends of marriage which are to be
unitive and procreative, in accordance with the Natural Law. Throughout the Catholic Church
Christ has continually proved that contraception rejects man's calling from God to be fruitful as
well as completely giving of oneself; the spousal meaning of the body. This paper will argue why
contraceptives are erroneous in accordance with the Catholic faith, as well as offer a solution to
the problem that agrees with the Natural Law created by God.
Contraception has been around since biblical times. Egyptian scrolls were found that
dated back to over millennia ago. These scrolls contained confirmation of contraception being
practiced through evidence of drawings and writings. Wools from sheep that would absorb sperm
as well as well potions and poisons made by people of the time were used to prevent the birth of
children. Condoms made of animals skins were also used recurrently. These methods were all
assumed to prevent overpopulation of the land. Overpopulation would leave them with little to
no resources to provide for a mass quantity of individuals. In the Bible, through the story of
Onan, contraception is shown to be a sin thats consequences resulted ultimately in death. One
movement that the Church did not oppose was the Comstock Act which was approved by the
United States government in 1873. This Act prohibited birth control to be sold as well as
distributed. This included advertisements on the matter as well as information and distributions
of any type of birth control ("Reproductive Rights"). While this Act seemed to be successful, in
1916 the first birth control clinic opened in the United States by a woman by the name of
Margaret Sanger. A year later she was accused guilty of maintaining a public nuisance and
served 30 days in jail. Prosecutions and arrests continued for years. Her case was unrelenting

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until it was carried all the way to federal court. At this trial, in 1938, the judge lifted the ban on
birth control ("Contraception") In spite of the fact that the ban was lifted, birth control was still
looked down upon through the public eye, and was hard to obtain ("Reproductive Rights"). This
continued until the 1950s. Birth control then became a widespread trend sporadically when a
large quantity of clinics began to open and methods were easier to acquire. By the late 1900s, the
Supreme Court granted married couples the right to use birth control in regards to a right to
privacy. It was in the 2000s when advanced methods of contraception began to be manufactured;
with this mass fabrication came the media's new revolutionizing emphasis on the issue (A Brief
History).
Media coverage on the issue has heightened since contraceptives were legalized in the
United States in 1938 (A Brief History). Advertisement, television shows, and word of mouth
that promote or display the use of birth control are all found in today's society. Seventy five
percent of the television shows today exhibit some sort of sexual reference, even if it is not
straightforward. Of the seventy five percent, only fourteen percent pronounced some sort of
consequence to the idea or action of sexual activities. From 1997 to 2001, the expanse of sexual
content in the media, including contraception, had more than doubled. One recent study
publicized into the media determined that eighty six percent of the declines in pregnancies
throughout the United States were caused by contraception, as opposed to the fourteen percent
that were prevented through abstinence (U.S Teen Pregnancies). Abstinence is the only way to
prevent a pregnancy at a one hundred percent rate (Darroch, Jacqueline E., and Susheela Singh).
Another study came to the conclusion that teens that were not exposed to contraception had no
desire to have any sexual relations external of marriage. Therefore, the media's emphasis on

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sexual activity as well as contraception promotes and invokes teens and adults to use said
products, as well as increase the sexual relations with their significant others (Prischak). With
more promotion to contraception it allows the viewer to be open to having sexual relations with
their significant other at any given time without any reluctance or consequence. The penalties for
such actions, although mostly physical, are ironically the outcome of a moral decision.
According to an article written by Franciscan University, St. Pauls letter to the
Romans he states that those individuals who are not aware of the ten commandments given by
Moses, should still know what is right and wrong due to the requirements of the law that is
written on their hearts. This knowledge we convey within our hearts and minds is more formally
acknowledged as the Natural Moral Law. Contraception entirely goes against this Law. In the
Bible it is proclaimed that the two ends of marriage are to be unitive as well as procreative
(NATURAL LAW). According to the Theology of the Body, John Paul the second makes clear
how we should respect Gods Natural Law when having sexual relations. Each body is a temple
made by God to serve a rightful purpose. Each sexual union that a married couple makes should
be open to new life, in accordance with the two means of marriage previously stated.
Contraception intentionally discards the idea of new life, which is intrinsically evil. By not being
open to the idea of new life, disobedience to Gods command occurs (Paul, John, and Michael
Waldstein). According to the Book of Genesis, God states, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the
earth, and subdue it... By using contraceptives, the calling to be fruitful that God has
commanded the human race to ensure is made unattainable. The natural fertility process is
deliberately tampered with and put to a halt. This act displays selfishness between the man and

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woman for the reason that one, if not both of the spouses is not giving themselves fully to the
other. Where this act is egocentric, there should be selflessness in its place so that the love can be
whole. With that being said, unity is also unattainable when using contraceptives. One cannot
entirely give oneself to another while using any form of contraception. This withholding of
fertility, in the end, denounces the vows that the spouses recited throughout the sacrament of
matrimony (Paul, John, and Michael Waldstein).
In accordance with an article by EWTN, this withholding can ultimately lead to a loss
of respect in the marriage as well as additional effects. If selfishness arises during the time where
the spouses are supposed to display their most intimate expression of marital love, a domino
effect can lead to selfishness elsewhere in the relationship. The act of using contraceptives to
prevent the chance of new human life makes sexual relations focus on lust and the pleasure of
the act, rather than the beauty of a Christ-centered unitized love (Albertstein). Despite the fact
that many of the effects are internal, there are many physical effects of contraception. Hormonal
changes, weight gain, and nausea are all traditional side effects of the birth control pill itself
("Contraception"). Recent studies that have been tested on the pill have shown that there are
more severe long term effects of certain pills that contain drospirenone. Drospirenone is a manmade version of one of the hormones that contributes to the fertilization of a woman by altering
the cervical and uterine lining (Shoot). Drospirenone has been interconnected to an assortment of
severe, even fatal side-effects, together with deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, stroke
and heart attack. Birth control pills tested containing this imitation hormone exhibited results of
blood clots resulted in some women (Shoot).

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Also known to the industry of Contraceptives are Emergency Contraceptives. These
contraceptives are far more dangerous than those previously mentioned. Emergency
Contraception is defined as the prevention of pregnancy after unprotected sexual intercourse.
These methods can also be used when there is a discrepancy in sexual relations such as a torn
condom, or a forgotten dosage of Birth Control pills (Sexuality). These contraceptives are not
used regularly and are commonly used for rape victims. There are only three known emergency
contraceptives that are known to the public, but used wrong or right have severe side effects.
The first is known as the progestogen pill, more commonly known as Levonelle or Plan B. This
capsule contains levonorgersrel; a progestogen hormone, and can be taken up to 72 hours after
practicing unprotected sex. The next is acknowledged as the ulipristal acetate pill, more formally
called ellaOne. This particular pill was generated in the UK, but due to the fact it can be taken up
to 120 hours prior to having unprotected sex, it quickly widespread all through the United States.
The last form of emergency contraceptive is known as the intrauterine contraceptive device
(IUCD). This product is more often recognized as a coil. Despite the fact that the other two pills
may be purchased at any pharmacy, a coil must be implanted by a doctor or nurse. This
particular method provides the consumer with continuing contraception. All methods function
by preventing or postponing the discharge of an egg from the ovary (Emergency
Contraception). The effects of these contraceptives consist of extreme nausea; long term
abdominal pain, fatigue, sharp headaches, as well as changes to a womans menstrual cycle, and
hormonal intensities (Sexuality). Whereas these methods may be a life saver for most women,

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they entirely turn away from the openness to new natural life. This closed view on life again goes
against the Natural Law that God produced for individuals to live by while on Earth.
In the face of the many different types of contraceptives that are morally incorrect,
there are those who are in light of the Catholic Church as well as its teachings. Natural Family
Planning is a scientifically recognized and morally correct alternative to attain or postpone a
pregnancy. This method is used by means of observation of a womans fertility through her
menstrual cycle as well as hormone levels. As stated above in the name of the practice, this
technique is completely natural, meaning there are no drugs, procedures, or devices that
accompany the technique (Braus). Studies have come to a conclusion that although uncommonly
practiced in society, it is more effective than any other method of birth control with a success rate
of ninety eight percent. The families who used Natural Family Planning also had a divorce rate
that fell under five percent as opposed to the overall divorce rate in the United States being over
fifty percent. Therefore, those who practiced Natural Family Planning proved to also have a
stronger marital relationship as opposed to those who used artificial contraceptives ("NFP
Effectiveness").
The effects of birth control, even if sometimes fatal, are at present being reinforced by
the United States government. This past year, 2014, the Obama administration issued a more
than controversial appeal coinciding with the consumption of birth control around the United
States. The new health care law recently distributed a new requirement that all companies be
responsible for their insurance policy to cover contraceptives. A number of adherents of the
assembly argue that this is ethically unacceptable due to the fact that even though they may not
be a consumer of the contraceptives, they are contributing to the product availability which is in

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opposition of their religious beliefs. Due to those contrasting to the regulation, the
establishments who chose not to be affiliated with the Act informed the government of their
opposition. The government later responded with a compromise that assured fairness to both
parties as to not contradict or reject the freedoms of Religion given in the Constitution. It assured
employees be provided funding for contraception through a separate insurance policy; a policy
that the corporation in disagreement with the matter would not have to contribute to in any way
(Los Angeles Times).
While there have been compromise over the issue of contraception, the matter is a
continues to be a controversial topic throughout the world. Contraception ultimately denounces
the idea of natural human life through unnatural means. Condoms, birth control, emergency
contraceptives, and various other means of contraception have all shown to have developed in
popularity to consumers during the course of history. The advancement in the industry as well as
advertisement in the media all put an emphasis on the importance of contraception. Married
couples are called by God to be unitized and procreative through the Natural Law. Contraception
contradicts this law given to us by God due to the fact is disrupts the balance needed to have a
full marital union. As Catholics, we need to make a stand for the importance of human life and
how vital it is to accept new life into society. Natural Family Planning throughout marriage as
well as abstinence before can ensure a healthy marriage, as well as a Christ filled life as proven
in recent studies. This new life will only result in an abundance of greatness that can flourish
through the Catholic faith. There should not be a decision to make whether or not to reject
contraception, due to the fact that the choice is inscribed into our hearts when we are created by
God. By living out this command, we are living the life God called us to live.

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Works Cited
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Albertston, Eric James. "Every Engaged Couple Should Be Taught Why Artificial Contraception Is
Wrong." EWTN. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Jan. 2015
Braus, Patricia. "Contraception." The Gale Encyclopedia of Science. Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda
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Jan. 2015.
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