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Christians and Contraception: Why it is Your Choice, and Why Christianity Was
Wrong in the Past INTRODUCTION Contraception History Contraception is defined by
Webster’s II New Riverside Dictionary as “the prevention of conception. ” Its
synonym is “birth control”; defined as “the avoidance of unwanted pregnancies by
preventing fertilization by the use of contraceptives or continence. ” It is
argued that many forms of birth control are not in fact contraceptives because
they do not interrupt the conceptual process, but merely inhibit the survival of
the fertilized egg.
While we will still frame our discussion in the general category of birth
control, the distinctions are important when considering ethics. For example,
since the so-called morning after pill prevents the fertilized egg from
attaching itself to the wall of the uterus, and thus causing a miscarriage, it
technically would be a form of birth control, not conception control . Ancient
societies understood the difference between preventing conception and killing an
infant. In fact, they used a variety of techniques to try and prevent
conception. Coitus interruptus, also known as withdrawal, was widely practiced.
It was, however, condemned by conservative Judaism and Roman Catholicism as a
vice against nature. This idea grew from the belief that semen was a seed,
containing everything necessary for life, and the womb was fertile soil in which
to plant the seed. The seeds were believed to be finite, thus carelessly wasting
them endangered the future health of the tribe . The ancients also used types of
diaphragms to block the sperm. In Africa, women used plugs of chopped grass or
cloth. Japanese women used balls of bamboo tissue paper. Greek women used wool .
While birth control in one form or another has existed for as long as human
culture, there have also been attempts to prevent anything that impeded
pregnancy and birth. In 1873, Anthony Comstock was successful in passing a law
through Congress that defined contraceptive information as obscene. This was the
outgrowth of abortion legislation that outlawed all abortions except those
necessary to save the life of a woman. In 1869, Pope Pius IX had declared that
all abortion is murder. This was a change from previous Roman Catholic teaching
that considered 40 days after conception for a boy and 80 days for a girl as the
moment of quickening, meaning the beginning of life.
The moment of conception now became the beginning of life, and actually the
sperm and egg were even seen to be alive . Types of Contraceptives Contraceptive
methods for women include the rhythm method—abstinence around the most likely
time of ovulation—and precoital insertion into the vagina of substances (creams,
foams, jellies, or suppositories) containing spermatocidal chemicals. The use of
a diaphragm, a rubber cup-shaped device inserted before intercourse, which
prevents sperm from reaching the uterine cervix. It is usually used with
spermatocidal substances, intrauterine devices, or IUDs, are variously shaped
small objects inserted by a doctor into the uterus: they apparently act by
creating a uterine environment hostile either to the sperm or to the fertilized
egg.
The birth control pill, an oral contraceptive, involves a hormonal method in
which estrogen and progestins are taken cyclically for 21 days a month. These
pills suppress production of the hormone that would ordinarily cause ovulation .
Other forms include sterilization of either the man or woman, and many new
techniques and medications such as the previously mentioned “morning-after”
pill, or “minutes-after” hormone, and also different forms of progestin
injections or insertions . The Ethical Contraception Argument The morality of
contraception has been argued for centuries. Traditional Christians view the use
of contraceptives or contraceptive behavior as sinful and in opposition to God’s
will for humanity.
These fundamentalists have interpreted small pieces of Biblical scripture to
reveal the word of God, which shuns birth control. There has also been brought
forth a scientific argument supporting the disallowance of Christians utilizing
contraception techniques. On the other hand there is abundant evidence that
welcomes the intelligent use of birth control measures into the lives of
Christians living in the twenty-first century. There has been counter arguments
formed to the traditional views, and stunning revelations about the
misinterpretation of God’s word in scripture.
Also, it will not be a surprise that there is a large amount of information
from the scientific side that also encourages Christians to make their own
choices about their views on contraception, just as God intended. This paper
will serve to prove that although there is traditional evidence leading to many
Christians agreeing with the views opposing birth control, that in fact
scripture does not speak of birth control as a sin, but sex without conception
as a joyous gift from God. The Views of the Past Tradition Early Christian
teachings condemned birth control and saw procreation within marriage as the
only acceptable goal of sex.
In fact, Pope Gregory, around 600 A.D., said that all sexual desire is
sinful. And the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century declared that celibacy
and virginity are superior to marriage. In the 1950's, Pope Pius XII broke with
tradition and allowed the form of birth control known as the rhythm method,
where the woman keeps track of her menstrual cycle and determines the days she
unlikely to conceive. In the 1960's, Pope Paul VI tried to provide some theology
for this view in the papal encyclical Humanae Vitae. In this document, the pope
found a unitive purpose for martial sexual intercourse beyond procreation. The
sexual act was a means of strengthening the relationship between the couple.
However, because procreation is still seen as the natural purpose of sex, many
Catholic theologians find a contradiction in saying that knowingly using the
rhythm method to thwart conception is different than using a condom or the pill.
The intent of the couple was to not conceive, thus going against the natural
purpose of sex. Thus, a condom is not natural because it impedes the flow of
sperm to the egg. The birth control pill is not natural because it impedes the
egg from taking its normal place in the uterus. The morning after pill is not
natural because it impedes the fertilized egg from attaching to the wall of the
uterus and begins the process of becoming a fetus. Coitus interruptus is not
even natural because the sperm is deposited outside the female reproductive
organs. Sperm has one natural function in life. To swim to the egg and fertilize
the egg.
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