Catholic Perspective on Contraception.?

Question

What is contraception/what does it involve/ why is it important?
Who is affected by the decisions made about contraception?
what are the possible choices/options available to ppl faced with the issue of contraception?
why is the catholic chruch against contraception?

It's for a religion assignment.
Please and Thankyou.

Answer 1

According to the Catholic faith sex is for procreation purposes only, therefore contraception is not necessary, because you should only be having sex in order to have babies. That is the main reason.

The other issues include the area of The Bible that indicates a man should not spill his seed....to masterbate or use the pull and pray method would require him to pull out, as would a condem.

The use of hormonal contraceptives are an issue, because the sperm and egg can still meet, but cannot attach there by causing a kind of abortion when your body cycles. Abortion is a big no no in the Catholic Church, because they see it as murder.

The rhythm method is used most often by Catholic women. You time your cycle so that you do not have sex when you are fertile. If you look at most Catholic families it is obvious this method does not work very well,...but think of how it benefits the church....they get lots of continous new members.

Answer 2

I'm not catholic but I did a report on the same subject some time ago. In my research I found that other than the fact that catholics were not suppose to have sex outside of wedlock or for pleasure....was that contraception such as the "pill" was considered murder. 40 years ago when the pill first came out it was pretty bad. The side effects were awful, and didn't always work and could kill a fertilized egg in the beginning stages. The pill has changed in the last 10 years or so and there are nearly no side effects, none like in old days. Today the pill works by preventing the female body from producing an egg. Therefor, nothing to be fertilized by any sperm, 99% of the time. The catholic church has not updated their view of the pill since it was first introduced 40 years ago , but obviously this is because they just don't want sex out of wedlock. My paper was more on the "pill" and why catholics are forbidden to take it and whether or not their reasons were valid or not.

Answer 3

I AM CATHOLIC---in a catholic school I don't know if they really want your true opinion or what they want to hear--I did take a philosophy class run by a priest once and found it to be an eye opener.
contraceptives prevent pregnancy.
Different types work in different ways and different stages of conception
Example--birth-control pills change a woman's menstrual cycle and ovulation
no conception takes place.
IUD---will prevent a fertilized egg from attaching itself to the inside of the uterus-because it is the foreign object..and the woman's body will expel its lining for that reason.
Contraceptives are not important if you are a true catholic-they cannot be used
it goes against Church's laws---even Pope John Paul II stated that the 'rhythm " method that most believe is OK in the church-is birth control because you are planning on what days you will conceive or not-a decision that only God can make.You must accept children freely.
I can understand the thinking behind all this...I know where the church stands--but I am not pro life--this I believe to be a WOMAN'S choice no one elses.
the catholic church believes all life is sacred from the moment of conception-nothing should be done to prevent pregnancy because it is Gods will and gift to your lives..hope I helped....

Answer 4

Contraception is something used to prevent conception (getting pregnant). Both partners are affected by the decisions because, well, it takes 2 ppl to make a baby! Possible choices as in types of contraception? Um. . .condoms (male & female), sponge, diaphragm, spermacides, birth control pills, birth control patch, birth control shot, IUD (intra uterine device), rhthym method (pull out), and of course-the only 100% effective contraception-abstinence(refraining from sexual activity).
The reason the catholic church is against contraception is as follows: Catholics believe that sex out of wedlock is a sin. There for if you are a true practicing Catholic, you would not have sex out of wedlock, and there is no reason for two ppl who are married to attempt to not concieve a child.
Hope this helps!

Answer 5

Catholics often express their bewilderment by questioning church authority. Even if John Paul II is appreciated for his stand in favor of world justice, many Catholics refuse to follow the moral precepts he advocates in his public speeches. Thus, a large proportion of Catholic couples use methods of contraception condemned by the church. Others practice abortion.

Church authority is being called into question at all levels. The fact that the pope and other high prelates have taken a particular stand on a subject has not prevented the laity, the priests, and even the bishops from contradicting them. The book La Réception de Vatican II explains: “From this point of view, the situation created by the council has extended into church life. The Roman Catholic Church is now the seat of permanent, heated arguments. Even the pope’s recommendations are debated and very often criticized. The number of Roman Catholics saying that they are unable to make certain pontifical statements their own—in part or in full—is increasing.”

Some Catholics have accepted the changes out of faithfulness to the church and continue to practice its rites. Others feel disturbed about the situation and are content to live as fringe members of the church. According to present statistics, there is also a substantial third group of nominal Catholics who fail to support the church any longer.

Religious confusion is not confined to the Catholic Church in France. In the Netherlands too, crises have arisen for Catholics and Protestants alike, as our next article will explain.

Answer 6

Way more questions than can be answered in this forum. But I will attempt the main issue.

Sex is only allowed between a married couple. The sexual union of a married couple must be open to the creation of life. This union is the "giving of one's self to another" and contraception is viewed as cutting this union short. It is incomplete when the two withhold from one another and this includes remaining open to creating a new life.

"Natural" family planning is allowed and if pregnancy is avoided by this method it is perfectly alright.

Answer 7

Basically, Catholics are limited in their choices of birth control. They can use Abstenance, Rhythm, Temperature or a system involving fluid consistency(I forget the name of this one). Anything that mechanically or chemically interferes with the conception process is a form of abortion. You might say that timing is everything. Not sure what the argument against barrier methods is, though.

Answer 8

How about "Be fruitful and multiply"?

An alternative to contraception would be for a woman to pay attention to her body. I know when I am fertile and when I'm not. When I am I obstain.

God bless,
Stanbo

P.S. To the lady just above me, you are incorrect. Catholics are not against the pill just because of the side effects. We are against any form of contaception, condoms, diaphrams, spermacide, etc.

Answer 9

You have a better chance of finding printable, authoritative material for your assignment from the online Catholic Encyclopedia. Try the following link:

www.newadvent.org

Or just type "New Advent" or "Catholic Encyclopedia" into your search engine.

Answer 10

I think that you will find the answer that you seek in this link:

http://www.newadvent.org/library/docs_pa06hv.htm

it is Pope Paul VI Encyclical on Birth Control.

Good Luck.