Contraception:
A Moral Issue?
Natalie Vallee
Presented to a Grade 11
Religious Education Class.
Contraception:
What is it?
The intentional prevention
of fertilization of an ovum,
as by special devices,
drugs, surgical procedures,
or sexual practices.
What is a Moral Issue?
A moral issue is something that involves a difference of belief
and not a matter of preference…
So, why is Contraception a Moral Issue?
Contraception is a preference for sexual intercourse
Catholic Church has a difference in belief to the preference of
Contraception.
The Belief of the
Catholic Church
The act of sexual intercourse has
two functions in a marriage:
1.
Unitive – the couple become
one flesh
2.
Procreative – the sexual act
creates the possibility of
conception.
In Catholic thinking…
In Catholic thinking, these two functions cannot
be separated, and therefore each act of sexual
intercourse must be open to the possibility of new
life. The avoidance of contraception is viewed as
allowing God to decide whether or not conception
will take place.
“Avoidance of Contraception”
 The
Catholic
Church considers
all artificial
methods of
contraception
which intentionally
prevent
conception as
wrong or a mortal
sin.
 Contraceptive
Pill
 Condoms
 IUD
– Intrauterine
Device
 Medical Procedure
ex. Vasectomy
 Sterilization
Contraception as a
Mortal Sinful
A
Mortal Sin is an action that is a result of
a conscious decision to separate from or
turn one's back to God.
 In using contraception you are placing
something in between your relationship
with God and therefore a deliberate sin is
committed within the Catholic Church.
So… If artificial contraception is a
Mortal Sin, then what can be used by a
married couple in order to become
one flesh in the marriage bond?
Remember: The Catholic Church considers intercourse as
a bond for married individuals. Sex before marriage is also
a Mortal Sin!
Natural Family Planning
 Natural
Family Planning is a method
where intercourse is avoided on the days
when a woman is at the most fertile
phase of her menstrual cycle.
 Natural Family Planning (or Fertility
Awareness) are also methods that
couples can use to increase their
chances of conceiving - - depending on
how they are used.
Contraception vs. Conception
 Predict
ovulation to
avoid sexual
intercourse .
 Tracking ovulation
should be taught
and should not be
depended on
unless couple is
trained properly.
 Predict
ovulation to
arrange to have
sperm, present in a
woman’s
reproductive tract
at about that time
of ovulation.
Methods of Natural
Family Planning



Calendar Method
The Basal Body
Temperature Method
(BBT)
Billings Ovulation
Method
Catholic Thought on
Contraception…
Scripture:
Gen 1:28, 9:1,7; 35:11 - from the beginning, the
Lord commands us to be fruitful ("fertile") and
multiply. A husband and wife fulfill God's plan for
marriage in the bringing forth of new life, for God
is life itself.
Gen. 28:3 - Isaac's prayer over Jacob shows that
fertility and procreation are considered blessings
from God.
Gen. 38:8-10 - Onan is killed by God for practicing
contraception (in this case, withdrawal) and
spilling his semen on the ground.
Tradition / Church Fathers
"To have coitus other than to procreate children is to
do injury to nature."
Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor of Children
2:10:95:3 (A.D. 191).
"[Some] complain of the scantiness of their means, and
allege that they have not enough for bringing up more
children, as though, in truth, their means were in [their]
power . . . or God did not daily make the rich poor and
the poor rich. Wherefore, if any one on any account of
poverty shall be unable to bring up children, it is better
to abstain from relations with his wife." Lactantius,
Divine Institutes 6:20 (A.D. 307).
"God gave us eyes not to see and desire pleasure, but
to see acts to be performed for the needs of life; so
too, the genital [’generating’] part of the body, as the
name itself teaches, has been received by us for no
other purpose than the generation of offspring.”
Lactantius, Divine 6:23:18 (A.D. 307).
Humanae Vitae



Humanae Vitae is Latin for “Of Human Life”
and it is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI.
An Encyclical was originally a letter sent to all
of the churches in a specific area in the
ancient Catholic Church.
The Humanae Vitae is subtitled “On the
Regulation of Birth” and it deals with the
traditional teachings of the Catholic Church
regarding abortion, contraception and other
issues that deal with human life.
"Therefore We base Our words on the first principles of a
human and Christian doctrine of marriage when We
are obliged once more to declare that the direct
interruption of the generative process already begun
and, above all, all direct abortion, even for therapeutic
reasons, are to be absolutely excluded as lawful means
of regulating the number of children. Equally to be
condemned, as the magisterium of the Church has
affirmed on many occasions, is direct sterilization,
whether of the man or of the woman, whether
permanent or temporary."
"Similarly excluded is any action which either before, at
the moment of, or after sexual intercourse, is
specifically intended to prevent procreation - whether
as an end or as a means."
Humanae Vitae
Some Questions…

Are both spouses guilty of a mortal sin if one
chooses to use a contraceptive against the
others will?

No. If a man decides to have a vasectomy
against his wife’s will, she may still have sex
with him and not be guilty. Likewise, if a
woman is taking birth control pills against a
husband’s wishes, he may still have sex with
her and remain guilt free.
If a woman is using birth control for medical
reasons other than preventing pregnancy, it is
okay to have sex?
 First
of all the problem here is not with the
idea of contraception but the reasoning
or intention behind the use of
contraception. If the use is for medical
reasons and does not interfere with
procreation then there is no sin, but if the
purpose behind the contraception is to
prevent pregnancy then sin is committed,
it’s an issue addressed in Humanae Vitae.
If a man has a vasectomy, does he need to
reverse the procedure before having sex again?
If a man is truly sorry for having the operation
and has gone to confession, he may have sex
again without fear of committing a sin, but
being truly sorry and “partially sorry” and
separate feelings.
Questions?
Some Helpful Websites
 http://christianityinview.com/home.html
 http://thecatholicletter.com/birth-control-
abortion-article.html
 http://www.catholicpages.com/morality/fatal.asp
 http://www.catholic pages.com/morality/