[IncPen]

I posted my mom’s humorous observation as an anecdotal ‘first person’ response to NFP. Granted her experience was 50 years ago.

But even in your reply, the quoted piece says, ‘ 93% of women everywhere can identify the symptoms’, the implication is that 7% cannot identify symptoms. Allowing for errors (if we generously say 3%), that means a one-in-ten failure rate. Given the stakes (a human life) I think that that’s a risky game to be playing.

[Brian Kopp DPM]

Actually, that's not a proper conclusion; every scientifically valid study has found NFP to be 95 to 99% effective when used according to the guidelines.

But the bottom line is that it is open to Life, and therefore far more open to God's Will. Especially when compared to barrier and hormonal contraceptives!

In comparison, all barrier methods have a 5 to 15% failure rate and even the Pill is no better than NFP. The Pill and all other hormonal contraceptives are abortifacient, and therefore verboten to any committed Christian, and barrier methods are much less effective than NFP.

So where's the debate for a committed Christian?

[Brian Kopp DPM]

Granted her experience was 50 years ago.

Oh, I missed that. "Her experience" likely refers to the rhythm method then, not NFP. No comparison.

[Brian Kopp DPM]

From the quoted piece:

Most pregnancies during trials of natural family planning occur after intercourse at times recognised by couples as fertile...Indeed, a study of 19,843 poor women in India had a pregnancy rate approaching zero.

If poor illiterate women in India can achieve a failure rate approaching zero, think what educated motivated Americans could do.

By the way, I don't like referring to pregnancy while using NFP as a "failure." I see it as God's Will for that couple at that time in their life.