28 Days on the Pill

Interesting to think about. How much DO we know about the birth control pill?



http://www.28daysonthepill.com/

.....Happy Birthday?

Yesterday, a young girl walked into the pregnancy center for a pregnancy test. I heard her talking with one of our client advocates as she walked through the hallway, and I stopped to listen when I heard her ask whether or not birth control was available through the pregnancy center.

This young girl told us that she had been using birth control for about a year now, but really wanted to stop using it. She told us that she "didn't like it." That answer can be pretty common for a lot of women who are using some form of birth control, and it's a pretty understandable answer. Birth control injects hormones into a woman's body, throwing her entire body off balance. This year marks the 50th Anniversary of what is famously known as simply "the pill," the most popular form of contraceptive here in the U.S.

No, we don't give out birth control here at the pregnancy center, and I'm very grateful for the fact that we don't. I think it's time that women start seriously looking at what birth control does to our bodies. These days, it's incredibly common for "the pill" to be prescribed for pretty much any reason - acne, heavy periods, pain etc. But what most people don't realize is that these pills can seriously harm us (both physically and psycologically), lower our chances of becoming pregnant in the future, increase the risk of getting breast cancer, cause us to gain weight, could possibly cause an abortion for baby already conceived, throws our hormones and our bodies off balance, gives us nausea, decreases our libido, harms the environment, and puts a barrier between us and our husbands.

So why would we do this? CNN put out an article this past week about how the birth control pill has revolutionized our culture and completely changed the way that we view sex. Birth Control is oftentimes seen a "liberating" thing for women - a powerful way for them to gain control over their bodies, to decide for themselves on how to use their sexuality, and a way to enjoy sex with "no strings attached."

But what's wrong with this? For one thing, there is no such thing as "sex with no strings attached." Our sexuality is the core of who we are as women, and the way that we use that gift goes deep inside of us. By using birth control, we're working against our own natural cycle, which is always going to touch us in a deep way. As Theology of the Body explains, our bodies express our persons - what we do with our bodies matters.

Second of all, birth control takes out the responsibility that comes with sex. We're human beings, not animals. We have the capability of saying no, of making decisions - we have freedom, and, as Spiderman famously said: "With freedom comes great responsibility." John Paul II said it even better: "the greater feeling of responsibility, the more true love there is."

The primary purpose of sex is procreation; no matter how much we try to justify the use of contraception, we can't - because Christ is always in control of new life, not us. Everytime we use contraception, we're kicking Christ and His creative power out of the fundamental act that He designed for new life.

And last, but not least, it really does harm us as women. As I once heard, "birth control is the only drug you give to a healthy woman that makes her sick." Think about that - birth control harms women. It isn't good for our bodies - this should tell us something.

So, happy birthday to "the pill"? I think not.

"Making a Difficult Choice"

I came across this beautiful story yesterday, and I absolutely love it. It's a story about a woman who was diagnosed with cancer in 2005, and what that cancer did to her marriage. It really shows what love is - and how love = sacrifice. She has some great insights about birth control vs. NFP/abstinence, too. You can read the entire story here.


"In April 2005, I was diagnosed with cancer.

It was just two weeks after the birth of my ninth baby, and days after my youngest brother’s death in a car accident. I stopped breastfeeding immediately as I needed many tests including an MRI and CT scan, the latter of which required the ingestion of radioactive material. What’s more, chemotherapy was next to come. A mother simply couldn’t nurse with those toxins rushing through her body... But the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back of my emotions came when my husband and I were sitting in the oncologist’s office, after a tests had been completed, while my mind was spinning with the diagnosis, treatment plan and clinical trial options. The oncologist ended his discussion of my future by saying, “Now before we start, we need to get you on birth control because you absolutely must not get pregnant.”

Suddenly this became clear. At one of the weakest points of my physical and emotional life I was going to be morally challenged too. Herein lay David’s and my “difficult choice”: Would we choose to be fully Catholic and reject artificial birth control, or choose to make an exception for ourselves?

Perhaps you think that a two week post- partum, exhausted and sick woman does not have sex as a priority on her mind. You are right. But if you were diagnosed with a life-threatening disease and you thought that you might die, you would likely begin to yearn for the love, reassurance and intimacy that the marital act provides. The thought of the possibility of never having that again was terrifying to me.

Sometimes my mind would wander. What if I died? What if my husband remarried? What if his new wife were better, prettier, holier than me? She would raise my kids. She would have the normal relationship with my husband that I craved. As I grew bloated from treatment, as my hair fell out, I continued to feel ugly and depressed. How could he still love me? Stay with me? Would he change his mind? I was normally reflective, but this crisis threw me deeper and deeper into introspection and speculation of scenarios that “might be”. I was tired, sick, crabby and sad most of the time. I felt I had nothing to offer my husband. I longed for the closeness we shared before this crisis. I was tempted severely to throw in the towel, to go back on our decision.

Suddenly, I felt deep warmth within my soul. I felt Jesus saying directly to my heart, “You are not alone. I am with you.” Then I suddenly KNEW that not only was Jesus there with me during the ordeal of my cancer experience, like a husband might sit with his wife during labor, but He willingly took on the sufferings I was experiencing, from the needles in the arm, to the nausea, to the uncertainty, the aloneness, the mental torment. He chose to suffer with me and for me. I also got the profound feeling that my suffering — indeed all suffering — was an invitation to participate in the redemption of the cross. He was asking me to trust Him. Renewed in soul, I left the chapel in wonder and awe, and pondering God’s great mercy and love.

Six months later, after twelve grueling treatments I was pronounced ‘cancer-free’. For several more months pregnancy was strongly contraindicated, as my system was still full of powerful toxins. I was grateful for the strength and leadership of my husband during this time. We continued our abstinence commitment until the prescribed time period was up.

I believe God gave David and me that time for productive soul-searching and deep spiritual bonding together. God offered us a chance to definitively choose Him , to grow in maturity and be strengthened through the myriad ways that suffering does.

Today I also look at Catholic couples who struggle with the Catholic teaching on birth control and who feel tempted to think that artificial contraception might be the answer. I want to encourage them: Be strong. Stay true to your faith. You can do this! Even in exceptional situations, make the right choice, even if it is the difficult one. God is with you each step of the way, more than you can understand. Trust Him. Blessings will follow. "

Straight Talk: Contraception, Condoms, and NFP

It's not uncommon to hear criticism directed at one particular aspect of the Church's teachings on human sexuality: contraception, whether that be in form of a birth control pill or a condom. What's wrong with contraception? Why can't I wear a condom? are a couple of questions that pop up pretty frequently in our presentations among high school students.

• Contraception? Sex is the most personal, the most intimate, the most opening/revealing act there can possibly be. It requires complete vulnerability, and thus it's sign of complete giving and receiving. Fertility is inherently tied in with the sexual act, and one can't give himself/herself completely while he/she is denying the fertility aspect of sex. Having sex with birth control or a condom, knowingly or unknowingly, says "I give my entire self to you....almost." What if we smiled at someone and said "Nice to meet you" and then slapped that person on the face? What's going on here? We would be lying with the body. Contraception is a lie with the body. It's saying "I give myself to you completely" while withholding or rejecting a part of the self.



• Condoms? When you really think about it, condoms (or birth control pills) were not created to prevent pregnancy. There's already a 100% effective method of doing that: abstinence. They were created so that men and women could indulge in one's sexual desire. No self-control required. Ever. No responsibility. If we use a condom we don't ever have to say no, and we train ourselves not to. The less self-control we have the more enslaved we are to our own sexual desires. It will just become easier and easier to slip into pornography, infidelity etc...
• Furthermore, just FYI: Condoms have a 15% failure rate if used correctly (and less than 50% of teenage males actually use them correctly) AND they provide no protection against many STDs like Chlamydia, herpes etc. Also, birth control has serious side effects for women: weight gain, moodiness, increased blood pressure, risk of gall bladder disease and liver tumors, heart attacks and strokes, depression etc.
  
• So what's with NFP? It stands for Natural Family Planning. In a nutshell, NFP trains couples to recognize the signs that a woman is during the fertile period in her cycle (this only happens about 3-5 days per month) and so the couple is able to abstain from sex during this time. It's extremely reliable. In fact, NFP has a 99% accuracy rating. This the difference between NFP and contraception: NFP doesn't in any way impede the procreative course of sex. It doesn't block anything. It's like the difference between an abortion or a miscarriage, or the difference between suicide and natural death. Another interesting fact about NFP: couples who practice NFP only have a 2% divorce rating. Using NFP encourages couples to work together and use other ways to express affection besides sex, encouraging more communication etc. Giving up something mutually for the good of their family strengthens marriage.

More questions? This is a great resource:

Question Box Friday: Do condoms work?

There are 18.9 million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases each year and 9.1 million of those cases happen among people ages 15-24. There are around 800, 000 teen pregnancy each year. Why such high numbers? It is because we've given into this "safe" sex mentality. This mentality tells us that it is possible to "protect" ourselves from the consequences of sex such as an STD or a pregnancy by using a condom or getting on the birth control pill. However, condoms and birth control have failure rates. Just think about how much protection doctors wear when they know they could come in contact with their patient's bodily fluids. They are covered head to toe in protective gear. However, when talking to our teens or young adults about sex (an exchange of bodily fluids), they are often handed a small piece of thin latex and told "Just use this and you will be safe."

Here are some informative information to chew on from The Medical Institute for Sexual Health's (MISH) 2003 publication, Sex, Condoms and STDs: What We Now Know - "Safer Sex" isn't nearly safe enough.

What does "protection" mean?
The scientific meaning of the word "protect" can mean anything from "somewhat better than nothing" to "complete safety from a risk factor."

What is consistent (always) condom use?
It is usually defined as 100% condom use during all sexual acts indefinitely.

100% use of condoms for many years is so uncommon that it is almost a, "purely theoretical concept," except for very few, very meticulous individuals. Even among adults who knew their partner had HIV, only 56% used condoms every time.

What do condoms actually do?
Condoms DO NOT provide protection, they reduce the risk of infection

Condoms slip or break on average 1.6% to 3.6% of the time even when used 100% of the time.

The less experience someone has with condom use the greater the chance of condom failure, but most importantly, the more acts of sex someone has, there is more chance of experiencing condom slippage and breakage.

Which STDs do condoms "protect" a person from?
Human Papillomavirus (HPV and the #1 most common STD) and Trichomonas Vaginalis: NO clinical evidence of any risk reduction.

Syphilis: With 100% consistent condom use, there remains a 50%-71% risk of infection

Chlamydia and Gonorrhea: With 100% consistent condom use, there remains a 50% risk of infection

Herpes II: With 100% consistent condom use, there still remains a 60% risk of infection
(Herpes II often produces lesions outside the areas that are covered by condoms.)

HIV: With 100% condom use, there still remains a 15% risk of infection

For the approximately 20 other STDs, not enough data exists to say whether or not condoms offer any risk reduction from sexual transmission.

Among teenagers and young adults, when using a condom, there is still a 22.5% risk of becoming pregnant.

The birth control pill, when taken properly everyday, has a 2% failure rate of pregnancy, but provide no reduced risk of contracting a STD.

Condoms and the birth control pill were not invented to "protect" us from STDs or pregnancy. They were created so we can have sex whenever we want with whoever we want.

There was already a very healthy and natural way of preventing STDs and pregnancy. It's called abstinence and it is a great thing! Our sexual urges and feelings are healthy and good, but we are not a mere a collection of urges. We are human beings with the inherent dignity of being created with the ability to reason and will. We have the great privilege and capacity to control ourselves; our urges or feelings whether they be sexually or not. We have got to stop believing the lie that "If it feels good then do it," or "If it feels good then it must be good" or "They'll going to do it anyways." Sex is great, but we don't have to have sex in order to be happy in life. I look forward to my honeymoon night, but I am 24 years old and have not yet had sex and I am very happy and fulfilled.

About the The Pill

Did you know that The Pill can often cause an abortion? Find out want doctors fail to tell women about The Pill: click here.

When doctor doesn't know best

This article was passed on to me by blogger Tony Rossi, who tells the story of Miss America, Angela Baraquio Grey's Catholic faith and the faith of her parents whose choice for life resulted in Angela being alive today. Read it here.

All about birth control

We frequently receive questions regarding the morality of birth control inside of marriage. Here are some other articles to read for more information and further clarification.

• Jason Evert's explanation for teens
• Jason Evert: What's the difference between contraception and Natural Family Planning? and here
• Contraception vs. Natural Family Planning videos (these are short and pretty funny but explain differences well)
• A doctor's explanation
• "What a woman should know about birth control"
• Benefits of Natural Family Planning
• Great explanation of Natural Family Planning vs. contraception from Christopher West
• A bishop's explanation
• Listen to the podcasts called, "Love is fruitful."
• Pope Paul VI's encyclical, "Humanae Vitae"

There's plenty more out there, but this is a good list for those who may be looking for further clarification of what we have discussed in our high school presentations. Also, I came across this analogy from Mary Healy, which may be helpful: "In the language of the body, the difference between NFP and contraception is the difference between refraining from speech for a time and lying."

The nature of birth control, Part II

In yesterday's post, I mentioned that the two "Your Voice" columns in the Cincinnati Enquirer replying to my op-ed were both written by men who advocated the use of birth control. With perfect timing, just to prove my point that not all men are sex-obsessed creatures, a reply written by a local father appeared today. You can read it here: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071017/EDIT02/710170318/1090/EDIT. It's not every day you read about Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body in the secular newspaper!

The nature of birth control

A week or two ago I posted a link to an op-ed piece I wrote for the Cincinnati Enquirer in response to a woman advocating lower birth control prices for low income or college women. Since the article was printed, several other letters to the editor and op-ed pieces have been printed. The letters to the editor have agreed with my response that chastity is the true answer.

However, there have been two longer "Your Voice" articles that have challenged my arguments. As I read the second one today, I couldn't help but marvel that both of these challenges were written by men. Today's writer expressed doubt that women are disrespected by the use of birth control. That's easy for him to say, I thought.

A few years ago I participated in a 1,300 mile pro-life walk in the Northeast. In Boston, I saw a young man holding a "Keep Abortion Legal" sign. Attached to his lapel was a little pin that said, "I (heart) pro-choice women." Really.

If a girl is taking birth control, then the guy knows that he most probably will not father a child, thus relieving a major consequence of pre-marital sex. The girl doesn't become a mother and the guy gets what he wants.

Pope John Paul II said the opposite of love is not hate but use. We can never use another person if we truly love them. To separate sex from its life-giving nature is to treat sex as a tool merely for pleasure. Ultimately this means we are using the other person to get what we want, instead of loving them as a fellow person.

I'm not saying all men have these bad intentions. In fact, I know many men who respect women more than they often respect themselves. In our culture, however, I believe we have attempted to make men feel that they are supposed to use women. Women seem to expect it, and men often think it's the role they are supposed to fulfill. On the contrary, men are called to protect and defend women. What's more, they are capable of doing so.

Promoting birth control continues the stereotype that men are only after sex. Women are simultaneously reduced to sexual objects. God created sex to be something so much more beautiful than a mechanism for pleasure. When looked at according to His plan, we can see that we deserve so much better than to be used. We were created to be loved.