Married couples, contraception and 'Humane Vitae'

By Christopher P. Klofft

    In paragraph 25 of Blessed Paul VI’s encyclical “Humanae Vitae,” he makes an invitation to married couples to make the teaching of the document visible to the whole world.  He writes: “the Lord has entrusted to [Christian couples] the task of making visible to men and women the holiness and joy of the law which united inseparably their love for one another and the cooperation they give to God’s love, God who is the Author of human life.”  This is the only reference in these two paragraphs of text that speaks explicitly to their role as parents.  The rest of the section talks about the witness of their married love to the world as a sign of Christ’s love.
    There is a way in which couples can especially witness Christ’s love in the world, cooperate with the creative love of God, and most especially enact “responsible parenthood,” the specific duty of the married couple articulated in paragraph 10 of the document.  It also happens to be one of the best-kept secrets of the Catholic Church, though it shouldn’t be: the practice of Natural Family Planning.  NFP is the scientifically based practice by which a married couple can respect the design of nature, honor the mystery of manhood and womanhood invested in us by our Creator, and prayerfully determine the family size which will contribute to the building up of the Church and the salvation of all the family’s members.
    There are a host of misconceptions about NFP: that it’s the same as the mid-20th century “rhythm method,” that it deprives the marital relationship of spontaneity, that it’s hard to learn, that it fosters resentment between spouses, or that it just doesn’t work.  In truth, none of these accusations are accurate.  NFP is a practice that is easy to learn, increases marital communication and intimacy, and has an effectiveness at avoiding pregnancy equivalent to hormonal contraception – but without the cost, dangerous side effects, damage to the woman’s fertility, or ease by which a man can ignore the equilibrium of a woman’s body (cf. HV 17).  
    “Humanae Vitae” was intended to glorify the opportunity afforded by married love, even as it spoke of it as a sacred duty. Married love according to the divine design increases happiness and improves the health of society.  But so many have rejected this opportunity in favor of convenience or mistaken notions of biology.  
    Whether you are newly married or have been married for 20 years, consider the possibilities of a richer, happier, more intimate marriage through the daily practice of Natural Family Planning.  Welcome it as a school of virtue to help you and your spouse to grow in response to the universal call to holiness of “Lumen Gentium” chapter 5.  Consider it as full participation in a love that is truly human, total, faithful, and fruitful (HV 9).  And most of all, imagine the growth of the Kingdom of God made possible here on earth by a community of married couples vigorously living out the fullness of their vocation.  This was the hope of Paul VI in July 1968.

    – Christopher P. Klofft  is associate professor of theology at Assumption College where he teaches Scripture, moral theology, and the theology of human sexuality.  He is the author of “Living the Love Story:  Catholic Morality in the Modern World.” He and his wife Bridget are the parents of two sons and are members of Immaculate Conception Parish in Worcester.




By Allison LeDoux

    Dr. Walt Larimore is a nationally recognized family physician. Some years ago he had an experience that changed his life.  A colleague showed him a patient information brochure which said that the birth control pills he had routinely been prescribing for years had a post-fertilization effect causing the “unrecognized loss of pre-born children.”  Dr. Larimore thought this couldn’t possibly be true – these hormonal contraceptives are commonly known to suppress ovulation and no one sees this as a particularly big deal.  However, his curiosity was piqued and his personal integrity made him realize he needed to pursue this further, so he set out to disprove the claim that contraceptives can cause early abortions.  
    After extensive consultation, he collaborated with another well-respected physician researcher, Dr. Joseph Stanford, and together they did a thorough review of all the medical literature on hormonal contraception.  They published their study, “Postfertilization Effects of Oral Contraceptives and Their Relationship to Informed Consent” in the Archives of Family Medicine, a journal of the American Medical Association.  What Dr. Larimore had discovered came as a shock, and led him to scientific knowledge that changed his life and his practice of medicine.
    The studies on hormonal contraception demonstrate that these drugs have multiple mechanisms of action; they are specifically designed to work in a variety of ways.  These include the effect of sometimes inhibiting ovulation (depending on where the woman is in her cycle), as well as the post-fertilization effects which include the slowing of embryo transport, alteration of the endometrium preventing the implantation of the baby in the womb, and, failure to maintain pregnancy when implantation does occur, because the chemically altered endometrium cannot nourish the developing baby.  The authors concluded in a subsequent study that the post-fertilization effects are probably more common than is recognized by most physicians or patients.
    What did Dr. Larimore do with this newfound knowledge?  After much deliberation and prayer, he concluded that the scientific evidence of the post-fertilization effects was strong enough that he could no longer in conscience prescribe contraception for his patients, especially since morally viable alternatives (scientifically based modern methods of natural family planning) were available.  Despite the anticipated backlash, and in the interest of true informed consent, Dr. Larimore explained to his patients this change in his practice and why.  What he found, blessedly, was that women were grateful and his practice continued to thrive.
    In the five decades since the invention of the birth control pill and the onset of the sexual revolution, we have seen its destructive and heartbreaking effects.  Pope Paul VI was clearly right when he predicted in 1968 that the widespread use of contraception would cause an increase in infidelity, an objectification of women, coercion by governments, and a degrading view of the human person.      When the Holy Father affirmed so eloquently, the constant teaching of the Church against contraception, and upheld the beauty and dignity of marriage so lovingly in “Humanae Vitae,” only to have it met with widespread controversy, vilification, and dissent, one can only imagine the suffering he must have endured.  Fifty years later, medicine, social science, and the wounded hearts of countless women and men have provided overwhelming evidence for the vindication of “Humanae Vitae.”  Pope Paul VI lived the remaining 10 years of his life without ever writing another encyclical.  He entered eternal life on August 6, 1978, the Feast of the Transfiguration, the same date on which 15 years later, in 1993, Pope John Paul II would issue his great work, “Veritatis Splendor” (The Splendor of Truth) which this year celebrates its 25th anniversary.  Divine coincidence perhaps?  Certainly both these incredibly rich documents provide us with a transformative guide for human flourishing.  And that is something our world desperately needs.
    In October 2018, in this 50th anniversary year of “Humanae Vitae,” Pope Paul VI will be canonized a saint.  It is quite fitting that the two miracles leading to his beatification and canonization both involved the healing of an unborn child - another affirmation that life and love go hand in hand, just as Pope Paul taught us so well.
    The contraceptive mentality in our culture has caused many to be deceived. We are called to more.  Let us strive to sincerely seek truth.  We may not always get the answer we think we want, but if our hearts are open, we will discover the freedom of The Gift.  That was what Walt Larimore did.  He sought truth and it changed his life.  If we are open to the way of Christ, who is the Truth, we will surely find him and be set free.  Reading “Humanae Vitae” is a great way to begin.

     - Allison LeDoux is director of the diocesan Office of Marriage and Family and Respect Life Office.


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