Birth Control

Many people have trouble understanding the difference between Natural Family Planning and the unnatural means of birth control. Some believe they are the same because the “end” — the regulation of births — is the same. But, NFP is inherently different from all other methods.

Five characteristics of love

To understand why, we must first first understand our call to love as God loves, since we are made in his image and likeness. Based on the ultimate act of love — Christ’s self-gift on the cross — we can see characteristics that illustrate how to love as God loves. Love is a decision — giving for the good of the other. Each spouse must choose to give himself or herself as a permanent gift to the other. This choice to become a self-gift involves knowledge of the value and dignity of the spouse. In addition, God created man and woman so that the intimate physical gift of love between husband and wife can be life-giving. When properly understood, this ability to participate in the power of creation is itself a great gift to the couple because only human beings can give life to new unique persons of equal value to themselves. Each child is another expression of God in this world and will live for all eternity.

But, if any of these five characteristics of love is missing in the marital act, our act of “love” falls short of loving each other as God intended. That’s what’s wrong with contraception — in all forms of contraception, at least one of the characteristics of love is missing.

Why not contraception?
Preventing conception/barriers
IUDs
Hormonal birth control
Sterilization
About pregnancy and related terms
Why NFP and contraception are different