By Judie Brown
A few days ago, I had surgery on my left hand to have a cancerous clump of cells removed. After the surgery, the doctor masterfully sewed the skin back together. It may look bad, but like he said, “The bad cancer is gone!”
I thought about this in the context of another type of cancer that has infected our entire culture. It flourishes in our “me first” society and has more than a little relevance to the recent “#metoo” feminist outcry. It seems that some people think that they can separate the results of the contraceptive mentality that lead to promiscuity from men who behave badly. But you cannot separate the two.
Sexual mores have changed dramatically over the past 50 years, and the declining respect for the gift of sexuality has consequences. You see, contraception is a root cause of sexual perversions and a whole lot more. Whether you believe this or not, you should examine and understand the facts.
We know that with the advent of the birth control pill in the mid-1960s, promiscuity became more prevalent and the divorce rate escalated. One particularly noteworthy statistic states that “divorce rates soared through the 1970s to the 1990s to almost 50% of marriages failing.”
This is catastrophic for families and for our country. According to ethicist Janet Smith: “Statistics do not really capture the pervasive ills attendant upon sexual immorality. Premature and promiscuous sexuality prevent many from establishing good marriages and a good family life. Few deny that a healthy sexuality and a strong family life are among the most necessary elements for human happiness and well-being.”
Not only are families being deconstructed, but there are other problems as well.
From a clinical perspective, the pill has created more than a few concerns for women. Many females sought the pill, and still do, because they do not want to bear a child. But as we now know, the birth control pill can cause abortion. Since the mid-1960s doctors have made a concerted effort NOT to explain this early-abortion mode of action to their patients. Instead, they redefined pregnancy. Many doctors and scientists claim with a straight face that pregnancy begins eight days after it has actually begun. Women have been duped! Furthermore, the pill was supposed to prevent—or at least curtail—the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control, quite the opposite has occurred. The number of cases has increased.
As I said, women have been duped.
In addition, contraception divorces the unitive aspect of the sexual act from the procreative aspect. In other words, using contraception says NO to babies, NO to marital fidelity, and NO to God. Most women today, single and married, use the pill to avoid pregnancy while having sexual relations with the opposite sex.
Pope Paul VI was concerned by this trend and wrote in Humanae Vitae: “A man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection.”
Voilà! Today women rightly decry sexual harassment and sexual abuse of every kind, including spousal abuse, violent rape, and so much more, but they do not condemn the contraceptive practices that helped give birth to these behaviors.
While I am not suggesting that such crimes against women never existed before the advent of contraception, I am saying that the escalation in such behavior perpetrated by men against women likely has something to do with the fact that contraception allows women to be used for pleasure rather than valued and cherished.
If we want to cut out the contraceptive cancer in our midst, we must admit that it is time for men and women to end the chokehold that contraception has on them.
By tossing contraceptives out, men and women can embrace chastity before marriage and fidelity within marriage. Crying “ME TOO” to that goal will actually heal, enrich, and bring joy to all men and women of good will.
Let’s cut out this cancer now.
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Learn more about Humanae Vitae by reading the articles cited in this article as well as at all.org/humanae-vitae-versus-decomposing-morality/?CategoryId=1&pg=2.
Then pray for America and teach your children that human dignity and respect for life begin at the beginning and never end, regardless of age, health, or condition of dependency.