Imagine there's an invisible
being lurking in your house, who has a strong interest in
everything that takes place in your bedroom. He watches every
action and can read your every thought, he watches you every time you
have sex with your partner, he can see whether or not you are using a
condom, whether you are indulging in oral sex and if your husband
has ejaculated outside of your vagina - a big NO, NO! Everything to the
smallest detail is observed and recorded, even when your room is
completely dark and the curtains drawn. Your privacy is invaded
24/7, the most mandane details of your private life
are constantly monitored, you cannot escape, even if you leave the
house you are still under surveilance. In fact, you under surveilance
when you sleep, wake up, go to work, when you are in the toilet,
shower, or when you visit your doctor. He even has his own private
police force to ensure that everyone on the planet abides by his rules,
it is called the Roman Catholic Church!
The Catholic Church and pro life groups in Chile are opposed to
President Michelle Bachelet's policy to enable the government to
distribute free emergency contraceptives at public hospitals to women
and girls as young as age 14. The Church has "condemned
distribution of the pill as a form of abortion that encourages
promiscuity and intrudes on personal freedoms," the Times reports.
The national conference of bishops in a statement said the government's
actions are "reminiscent of public policies established in
totalitarian regimes, by which the state aimed to regulate the intimate
lives of its citizens." [1,2]
It's very strange that an organization which agressively intrudes
on the most intimate aspects of its members' lives, accuses the Chilean
goverment of intrusion on personal freedoms. According to Catholic
dogma,
every sexual act MUST be open to the possibility of conception. Sexual
acts which preclude a chance of conception - such as oral sex or
mustarbation - are immoral and are forbidden, as are medications and
devices or surgery which prevent conception. The only method of
fertility control that's permissible is Natural Family Planning
(NFP), because it does not alter the
body or the sexual act. It involves monitoring the menstrual
cycle and abstaining from sex during the ferile period. [4]
NFP and artificial contraception (AC) are both methods of preventing
pregnancy, yet NFP if moral and and AC is not. It would appear
that the sin lies, not with the prevention of pregnancy, but the method
used. If AC is immoral because it alters the body or sexual act,
shouldn't
Catholics eschew surgery, vaccines, antibiotics? Catholic women should
be forbidden to have breast imlants, breasts were created by God to
nourish
babies, not for sexual pleasure or vanity. By having artificial devices
inside their bodies, women are going against God's will.
Aren't Catholics going against God's will by vaccinating their
children or having life saving surgery? Didn't God created viruses and
diseases? If God is the one who decides when we are conceived,
shouldn't he also be the one to decide when we die? (There is
Christian sect in the US who avoids all modern medicine and uses prayer
and the Bible
to treat disease.)
One excuse that I have come accross is that disease and injury
were not part of the original God's plan but came about after man's
fall, therefore medicine or surgery to treat disease is
acceptable because it aims to restore things the way they were before
the fall. Fertility on the other hand, was part of God's original plan.
Never mind the fact that God, being omnipotent and omniscient would
have known about man's fall before it occured and would have been
able to prevent it, if he so wished. If after the fall God wished to
punish humans with disease and death, we have no right to thwart his
plan with vaccines, surgery and antibiotics. If fertility is God's
plan, then NFP would also be immoral since it can be used to avoid
pregnancy. Instead of AC, TIMING and knowledge of the cycle are
used to dodge God's plan! Every time a couple abstains from sexual
intercourse, it prevents a new soul from coming to existance. If we
go by this logic, abstinance outside of marriage is also a sin, the ova
that
chaste girls resease every month do not have a chance to be fertilized
and
become a new soul and person.
Proponents of NFP oppose the use of AC or sterilization even in
cases where a woman has serious health reasons for avoiding
pregnancy. They argue that a woman can avoid further pregnancies by
using NFP, but they also argue that NFP is permissible because it
leaves the sexual act open to the possibility of conception. For a
woman whose life and health would be endangered by another pregnancy,
NFP would be like playing Russion Roulette, or rather, Vatican
Roulette! Women with brutal or uncooperative husbands, use of NFP
would be unworkable ! Complete disregard for women's lives and health,
is the foundation of Catholic doctrine.[1,5]
On some Catholic websites I have come accross claims that AC prevents a
couple from fully uniting during the sex act. I wonder if they ever
thought of the impact that perpetual childbearing has on a couple's sex
life and wellbeing. Having a baby every year would place tremendous
strain on a
woman's physical and mental health. Caring for babies and todlers is a
24/7 job, she would have to get up three or four times a night for
feeds
and when the little ones are teething or are sick she would not be
getting
any sleep or rest at all...there goes sexual intimacy out the window!
If
the woman is not stressing with "will I get my period this month",
she'll be battling with morning sickness, sore back, varicose veins,
high blood
pressure, swollen ankles, haemoroids etc, while having to take care of
several
small children.
Some have even criticized successful use of NFP and commented on
the restrictions of the calender.[3]
So, what's a devout couple to do?
* The women could have a baby every year until she ends up
with uterine prolapse.
* Play Vatican Roulette.
* Complete abstinance - works wonders for marriages.
* Hubby visiting prostitutes.
* Commiting the sin of mustarbation -SHOCK!! HORROR!!!
OR,
hubby doing it with the dog!
"When you peel back the layers of
the
anti-choice motivation, it always comes back to two things: What is the
nature
and purpose of human sexuality? And second, what is the role of women
in
the world?" Sex and the role of women are inextricably linked, because
"if
you can separate sex from procreation, you have given women the ability
to
participate in society on an equal basis with men."
Gloria
Feldt, the former president of Planned Parenthood
REFERENCES:
[1] Pro lifers and women's health
[2] Catholic opposition to EC in Chile
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=41711
Pro Life sites:
[3] Rhythm: the Unhappy Compromise
http://www.sspx.org/against_the_sound_bites/rhythm_unhappy_compromise.htm
[4] Humanae Vitae
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae_en.html
[5] No medical exceptions
http://www.catholicmom.com/nfp0304.htm
Watch video for consequences of Catholic
ban on contraception
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