There’s no riddle here - not for Catholics. We always knew this is how it would be if artificial birth control became the norm.
American women aged 15 to … your kidding right; so does that mean it’s just consensual sex as defined by the government? Uhm, fantastic statistical story and non-sequitur.
I never planned to use it, so I spent time learning Natural Family Planning, just before we got married, and beefed it up with Sympto-Thermal method when I found out about that, a few years later. It has worked fine for us during our 35 year marriage, and we have four wonderful kids, to boot! Yeah, the downside is sometimes you can't enjoy the full benefits of marital bliss, but it's a small price to pay to not have to worry about chemicals messing up your system.
This is a known, though not widely publicized - for obvious reasons - intention if breakthrough ovulation and fertilization occurs. It was the main reason progesterone hormones were included in the formula along with estrogen. For IUDs, this is usually the main reason they work - absent the hormones. It causes an inhospitable surface of the uterine wall that either prevents the embryo from implanting or dislodges it if it does. IUDs have also been responsible for implantation of the egg in a fallopian tube (ectopic pregnancy) which must always be surgically removed and the developing baby destroyed. Infertility and, sometimes, death happen with ectopic pregnancy.
This information is usually included in the fine print but seldom are women given the entire truth about their risks. The older I get, the more I see the wisdom of God and how his “laws” are for our protection - not just to keep us from having fun. I think we would be a far better and happier people if we would understand that fact! The "marriage bed" is the place for sex - period - and children are a blessing from God - not a "punishment".
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