The Negativity of Contraception

　　　

Janet E. Smith, Ph.D.

　　　

It is good to keep in mind that fertility is a great good: to be fertile is a state of health for an adult person. It　is those among us who are not fertile who need to be helped and who seek treatment for infertility. Women now take a " pill" to thwart their fertility, as if fertility were a disease against which we need a cure.

　　　

Contraception treats the woman's body as if there were something wrong with it. The use of contraception suggests that God made a mistake in the way that He designed the body and that we must correct His error.

　　　

In an age where we have become very wary of dumping pollutants into the environment it is ironic that we are so willing to dump pollutants into our bodies. The health risks of contraception to women are considerable--take a look at the insert pages in any package of the pill. The IUD is currently off the market because of so many lawsuits against manufacturers. Why do women expose themselves to such risks when natural methods of family planning are both safe and effective?

　　　

Let us not fail to mention that many forms of contraception are abortifacients; they work by causing an early term abortion. Rather than inhibiting ovulation, they work by preventing the fertilized egg, the tiny new human being, from implanting in the wall of the uterus. The IUD works in this fashion as do most forms of the pill (on occasion) and norplant. So those who are opposed to abortion and those interested in protecting the well-being of women would certainly not want to be using these forms of contraception. The other forms have aesthetic drawbacks or are low on reliability.

　　　

Contraception, then, enters a note of tremendous negation into the act of sexual intercourse. But lovemaking should be a most wonderful act of affirmation, a tremendous " yes" to another person, a way of conveying to another that he or she is wonderful, and completely accepted; this is conveyed by making a total gift of one's self to another. The contracepting lover says I want to give myself to you but not to the extent of sharing my fertility with you; I want you but not your sperm (or your egg)!

　　　

Just think of the words for contraception. Contraception means " against the beginning," the beginning of a new life. So a contracepting couple is participating in an act that is designed to bring about new life and they are acting against that new life. They put their barrier methods in place--for " protection" : as if they were　making war, not love. Or they use a spermicide--to kill the sperm. This is an act of love?