"And to throw something else into the mix, I have wondered if the Church's oppositon to contraception from its very earliest days, might not stem from a scientific misunderstanding in Greek medicine, that the new life or the seed was entirely from the man, while the woman was only the ground in which it grew"
hmmmm.
I've wondered about this 100% opposition to the man "completing" anywhere else but in his wife.
For ex....from what I've read on other threads, the wife may receive oral sex, but the man may not (to "completion")
I assumed this meant men may not deposit samples at fertility clinics either - or at the doctor's office for the purpose of studying the health of the sperm.
which then leads me to wonder why God allows nocturnal emmissions, but now I'm rambling.
Anyways - on another catholic forum the discussion involved whether a husband may receive os as long as he then would proceed to have intercourse with his wife.
It seemed the answer was - no he could not.
your post makes me wonder if the Church equates it with abortion.
LOL. A while back I was studying the Mishnah and saw a whole section on what needed to happen with the temple priests when that happened. It was someplace in Seder Tohorot. LOL.
There are ways to do this while still preserving the respect for the sexual act that the Church requires.
if the Church equates it with abortion
No, because automatic excommunication does not follow. The Church equates it with fornication or adultery. whether a husband may receive os as long as he then would proceed to have intercourse with his wife.
If you are talking about as foreplay, then absolutely. If you are talking about a sexual act in and of itself, then no.