Archive for the ‘Contraception & Abortion’ Category
Intrauterine Devices (IUD/IUS): What Every Woman Needs to Know
What is an IUD?
An Intrauterine Device (IUD) is a small object that is placed inside a woman’s uterus (womb) for the purpose of preventing or interrupting pregnancy.
Currently, there are two kinds of IUDs available in the United States: the Copper-T IUD, made from plastic and copper, and the Intrauterine System IUS, a plastic device that releases hormones.
Is an IUD 100% effective?
No. Thecopper-T IUD has a clinical pregnancy rate of less than 1 per 100 women each year,1 and the IUS has a rate of 0.2 per 100 women each year.2 (more…)
Breast Cancer Risk from The Pill [New and Revised]
1) How could the Pill cause breast cancer?
Two of the most important types of hormones that control reproduction are estrogens and progestins. Birth control pills are made from synthetic estrogens and/or progestins. Experiments have shown that these hormones cause women’s breast cells to divide more rapidly. [1] Cells which divide more rapidly are more prone to develop into cancer cells.
2) What is the evidence that the Pill and breast cancer are connected?
A comprehensive meta-analysis* published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings in October, 2006[2] found that 21 out of 23 retrospective studies done since 1980 showed that women who took oral contraceptive prior to the birth of their first child sustained a 44% average increased risk of developing pre-menopausal breast cancer, [see Table A]. ] This risk rose to 52% for women who took the pill for at least four years prior to the birth of their first child. (more…)
The “Morning After Pill” and other types of “Emergency Contraception” – Myths and Realities
What is “emergency contraception”?
“Emergency contraception” is the use of a drug or a device after intercourse to prevent pregnancy. Emergency contraception is promoted for use when a woman has been raped, when a couple has chosen to have intercourse without using any form of contra-ception, or when there is a suspected contraceptive failure. Types of emergency contraception include the Morning After Pill, the insertion of the copper-T Intrauterine Device (IUD) five to seven days after intercourse, or the use of the abortion drugs Danazol or Mifepristone (RU-486).
What is the “Morning After Pill”? (more…)
Problems associated with Hormonal Birth Control
Oral birth control (and all other hormonal birth control—HBC) is typically used to prevent pregnancy, but is sometimes prescribed for other medical conditions. HBC causes many potential adverse effects: medical, social and spiritual. The vast majority of HBC prescriptions are given by physicians to healthy women, including adolescents with no known disease. These women are prescribed hormonal birth control for one reason—to prevent the completely normal condition of pregnancy.
Since all medications have potentially unwanted side effects, some of them serious, it is important that a physician weigh the risks and benefits when prescribing any medication. It follows that it is unethical to expose healthy women to health risks in order to prevent a normal condition. This is particularly true given the fact that there are alternative family planning methods, such as Natural Family Planning (NFP), which have no side effects when used correctly. (more…)
Perceiving the Contraception Connection
This homily (slightly abridged) was given on January 17, 1999 at the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul, Providence RI
Reading — John 1: 29-34
As he stood on one of the banks of the Jordan River that day, he was surrounded by many people: people from Jerusalem, people from the countryside of Judea — they came to him in huge numbers. Of course, that was not unusual. In fact, Scripture indicates that it was always that way for John the Baptist. He truly was a charismatic personality, a man who could draw a crowd and then hold them spellbound by his teaching and preaching—because he spoke the truth with such clarity and conviction. We’re told that even some of those who hated him, like King Herod, were “captivated by his words.” (more…)
Homilies from Called to Give Life
Here are sixteen homilies dealing with morality for married couples and with contraception in particular. They are offered here for the use of priests and others who might find them useful.
Female Sterilization
What is female sterilization?
Female sterilization means making a woman permanently infertile, usually by cutting, tying, or blocking her fallopian tubes.
What are the fallopian tubes?
The fallopian tubes are two organs situated sideways in the lower abdomen attached to the uterus. They conduct the ovum from the ovaries toward the uterus and also nurture the ovum and the sperm. If fertilization occurs, the fallopian tubes nurture and transport the human embryo to the uterus.
