Essays for Lent: Natural Family Planning

Natural Family Planning

by Sebastian R. Fama

Natural Family Planning (NFP) seems to be the Catholic Church’s best-kept secret. It’s not that the Church wants it to be a secret. The message just doesn’t seem to get out. NFP is the licit alternative to contraception, or birth control as it is usually referred to. NFP is just as effective as any method of contraception and it has the advantage of causing no harm to the woman’s body with side effects and complications.

Rather than tamper with a woman’s body, NFP works with it. It is important to note that NFP is not the Rhythm Method as some tend to think. The Rhythm Method is dependant on the regularity of a woman’s cycle. Many women don’t have a regular cycle and so this method may not be very reliable by itself. NFP does utilize the Rhythm Method but it goes two steps further. NFP measures and senses the approach of ovulation. This is accomplished by monitoring three conditions in a woman’s body. These are basal body temperature, cervical mucus and the timing of a woman’s cycle (the Rhythm Method). By charting a woman’s fertile times a couple can know on what days of the month she can get pregnant. If their goal is to limit their family size they would abstain from intercourse on these days.

The Church has always taught that every act of sexual intercourse must be open to life. However, since times of infertility are a part of God’s design, it is perfectly acceptable to have intercourse during these times. But some ask, what’s the difference? Why would God care if we practiced NFP or used contraception? The end result is the same. But it's not about the end result. You wouldn't say that going out and stealing money is the same as earning it just because the end result is the same.

Sexual intercourse is a gift from God. Consequently, it needs to be respected and used in accord with its design and purpose. Let me illustrate my point with an example. Suppose you were having dinner at a friend’s house. After the main course your friend brings out some cheesecake. You really love the taste of cheesecake but you don’t want the calories. The proper thing to do is to pass on the cheesecake. There is nothing wrong with not eating cheesecake. However, it would be wrong to take some cheesecake, chew it, enjoy the taste, and then spit it on the table to avoid the calories.

If you abstain from sex during the fertile times it’s like not eating the cheesecake. If you contracept during fertile times it’s like chewing the cheesecake and spitting it out. That’s because in both cases you have performed the first part of what is by nature a two part process. The purpose of food is to taste good and to nourish. The purpose of sex is to communicate love and to produce offspring.

Contraception is wrong because it separates sexual intercourse from its procreative function. Thus, sex can become an end unto itself. The result is mutual selfishness. Making love should never be reduced to a means of relieving oneself. NFP, on the other hand, respects the procreative function. Couples become aware of and develop a respect for the woman’s fertility. A number of surveys have shown that the divorce rate for NFP couples is between .2% and 4%.That’s a big difference from the 50% rate of the general population.

It’s true that some couples may struggle with periodic abstinence. But as with most things perseverance produces results. Professor Janet Smith notes that NFP data suggests that periodic abstinence increases passion and revitalizes romance. According to a study commissioned by the "Family of the Americas Foundation," NFP couples have more frequent marital relations than those in the general public. Also, because mutual cooperation is needed, NFP enhances communication. A comparison of both methods illustrates the superiority of NFP.

Contraception	Natural Family Planning

1. 97% effective	1. 99% effective
2. Sex is primary focus	2. Relationship is primary focus
3. Dangerous side effects	3. No side effects
4. Promotes selfishness	4. Promotes mutual responsibility
5. Can result in abortion	5. Never results in abortion
6. Can weaken a marriage (Higher divorce rate)	6. Strengthens marriages (Lower divorce rate)
7. Inconsistent with Scripture	7. Consistent with Scripture
8. Costs thousands of dollars over a lifetime	8. Costs nothing once learned
9. Less frequent sex (on average)	9. More frequent sex (on average)

Couples interested in learning more about NFP should contact the Couple to Couple League of Cincinnati (www.ccli.org) or the NFP office in their diocese.

For Further Study

The Early Church Fathers on Contraception (Free)
Books - Sex au Naturel by Patrick Coffin and Why Humanae Vitae Was Right by Janet Smith and The Bible and Birth Control by Charles D. Provan.
DVD - Contraception: Why Not? by Janet Smith

1 posted on 04/03/2012 8:56:44 PM PDT by Salvation

2 posted on 04/03/2012 8:58:29 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

To: nickcarraway; NYer; ELS; Pyro7480; livius; ArrogantBustard; Catholicguy; RobbyS; marshmallow; ...

Catholic Ping!

A great comparison chart with this thread.

3 posted on 04/03/2012 9:01:12 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

4 posted on 04/03/2012 9:08:41 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

[i]”NFP is just as effective as any method of contraception”[/i][br][br]

lol.

5 posted on 04/04/2012 12:03:41 AM PDT by Bronco_Buster_FweetHyagh (I cling to guns and religion.)

To: Bronco_Buster_FweetHyagh

6 posted on 04/04/2012 4:01:20 AM PDT by al_c (http://www.blowoutcongress.com)

To: Bronco_Buster_FweetHyagh

Actually that’s true - it is just as effective.

7 posted on 04/04/2012 5:09:54 AM PDT by vladimir998

To: Bronco_Buster_FweetHyagh; vladimir998

Perhaps the poster with the impossible name is observing that if a normally healthy couple engages in intercourse during a period of fertility, they are likely to conceive a child. Identifying periods of fertility takes a certain amount of knowledge and effort.

Abstaining from intercourse during those periods can be difficult, especially if the couple does not have grave reasons for not conceiving. “Having more than two children is scary and people look at you funny,” is not a grave reason. Contrary to the kultursmog impression, fertility is good. Children are good. Life is good. Sterility is a disorder; hatred of life is a psychological and spiritual pathology.

8 posted on 04/04/2012 5:34:01 AM PDT by Tax-chick (Read "Radical Son" by David Horowitz to understand the Left.)

That’s the best, concise defense of NFP that I’ve read.

BTW, breast cancer rates have increased dramatically since the introduction of the (hormone) pill in the sixties.

I looked up the stats myself, and found a 250% increase in the US. In Japan, the rate of increase is 65%.

It’s a well-kept secret. The stats are hard to find, which is suspicious, considering the disproportionate publicity regarding breast cancer, in comparison to other forms of cancer.

9 posted on 04/04/2012 5:50:22 AM PDT by St_Thomas_Aquinas (Viva Christo Rey!)

-—Contraception is wrong because it separates sexual intercourse from its procreative function. Thus, sex can become an end unto itself. The result is mutual selfishness. Making love should never be reduced to a means of relieving oneself-—

I reread the article and realized that the author neglected to mention that the same mentality can be adopted by couples who practice NFP.

Pope John Paul II called this “the contraceptive mentality.” NFP must only be used for grave reasons.

This is where the rubber meets the road.

10 posted on 04/04/2012 6:01:57 AM PDT by St_Thomas_Aquinas (Viva Christo Rey!)

To: St_Thomas_Aquinas

the same mentality can be adopted by couples who practice NFP

Yes, but it's much, much harder to put into effect without artificial contraception or sterilization.

And even if they do, the couple has not engaged in an objectively sinful act. Not having sex is not a sin against chastity, although it may be a sin against charity (to one's spouse).

11 posted on 04/04/2012 6:13:45 AM PDT by Tax-chick (Read "Radical Son" by David Horowitz to understand the Left.)

To: Bronco_Buster_FweetHyagh

The author addresses that issue very well in the article. Did you read the article?

Yhis is not about the old “rhythm method.)

12 posted on 04/04/2012 9:40:05 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

To: St_Thomas_Aquinas

**breast cancer rates have increased dramatically since the introduction of the (hormone) pill in the sixties.

I looked up the stats myself, and found a 250% increase in the US.**

I wish the nation would realize this!

13 posted on 04/04/2012 9:42:04 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

BTTT for your answer....good one.

14 posted on 04/04/2012 9:43:51 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)

Thank you.

People often say that it doesn’t matter what actions one takes, or doesn’t take, if the intention is to avoid having a child. However, if it were truly all the same, then everyone would use NFP, which is free, healthy, environmentally-sound, and respectful of natural humanity. Obviously it’s not the same, and the necessity of exercising self-restraint is more burdensome than all the costs, inconvenience, and health risks of artificial contraception.

15 posted on 04/04/2012 12:01:30 PM PDT by Tax-chick (Read "Radical Son" by David Horowitz to understand the Left.)

Good comments. The “family planning” mentality is hardly Catholic. It is part of the liberal mindset with which the remnants of Christendom have been indoctrinated for hundreds of years, making Man in general (and each individual in particular) his own ultimate criterion and judge of the universe. The well-formed Catholic, on the other hand, if married, thanks God for providing a spouse, delights in God's gifts, and trusts in Providence. I highly recommend the little book “Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence” by Fr. Jean Baptiste Saint-Jure S.J. and St. Claude de la Colombiere S.J. (don't let the fact that the authors were Jesuits discourage you; they both died before 1700.)

16 posted on 04/04/2012 6:41:23 PM PDT by DumbestOx ("Where is everybody?" - Enrico Fermi, 1950)

St. Claude was one of the promoters of the Sacred Heart devotion, and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque’s confessor, right?

17 posted on 04/04/2012 8:42:43 PM PDT by Tax-chick (Read "Radical Son" by David Horowitz to understand the Left.)

The reason NFP isn't widely known is that there's no money in it. Once a couple learns NFP, they're autonomous. They don't need prescriptions or pharmacists. Just a thermometer and some graph paper, or a book on how to observe cervical mucus. No way for anyone to make money out of NFP.

Organizations like the Couple to Couple League, which promote NFP, depend on voluntary donations for their operating costs.

It is just a crying shame that the Church doesn't make more effort to promote NFP and inform people about it.

18 posted on 04/05/2012 5:09:20 PM PDT by JoeFromSidney (book: RESISTANCE TO TYRANNY. Buy from Amazon.)

I didn’t know that - but so says the old Catholic Encyclopedia article on St. Claude.

19 posted on 04/05/2012 7:44:59 PM PDT by DumbestOx ("Where is everybody?" - Enrico Fermi, 1950)

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