What does the Church say? Part 2: Contraception

In 1968, St. Paul VI shocked the world with the publication of Humanae Vitae (On Human Life). In it, he not only reaffirmed the Church's prohibition on contraception amid widespread expectations of change, but he also prophesied the following consequences if contraceptive use became widespread: 

• A general lowering of moral standards. 

• Increased marital infidelity and diminished respect for women. 

• Governmental abuse of power (e.g., coercive population control). 

• A view of the human body as an object, eroding personal dignity. 

  
  

I think anyone who lives in the modern world can certainly agree that these predictions have come true to a devastating degree. 

The Church opposes contraception not out of rigidity, but as a protective mother safeguarding the good of individuals, women, and marriage. Authentic spousal love requires total self-gift—free, total, faithful, and fruitful. The marital act speaks a "language of the body" that must truthfully express this commitment. 

Methods like pills, IUDs, and implants disrupt a woman's natural fertility and health. Common physical side effects harm healthy reproductive function. Often prescribed to "manage" conditions (e.g., PCOS, endometriosis, irregular cycles, acne, or mood issues), the pill merely masks symptoms with artificial hormones rather than addressing root causes. Underlying problems persist upon discontinuation, offering only a temporary "band-aid" that undermines women's dignity and access to genuine healthcare. 

Additionally, many hormonal methods have an abortifacient effect: they can prevent implantation after fertilization, ending a new human life rather than solely preventing conception. 

Condoms and other barrier methods, while non-hormonal, are unreliable long-term and distort the marital act by separating its unitive (bonding) and procreative (life-giving) dimensions—integral as designed by God. This introduces a barrier to total self-donation, withholding fertility and reducing the act to mutual use rather than mutual gift. 

Women—and marriages—deserve this fuller vision of love and health.