Contraception & Abortion
Why Is Contraception Immoral?
Too often the discussion of the morality of contraception fragments into a specific treatment of individual devices and methods wherein the overarching theological and philosophical essence of contraception is obfuscated. We lose sight of the forest for the trees. Behind every device and method of contraception is a fundamental breach of God’s design for marital sexuality. Without this perspective, the Church’s condemnation of contraception might appear to be a knee-jerk reaction to modernity or a rejection of science and man’s dominion over the material universe. The more we can recover the root of the Church’s prohibition of contraception, the more consistent and comprehensive will be our objections. (more…)
What About Birth Control?
Perhaps you would like to have (more) children some day, but not right away. Or perhaps you have serious reasons to avoid having (more) children. You will be facing a very important decision regarding family planning.
As your doctor, I feel it is my job to provide information that will help you make a wise choice that is best for you medically, emotionally, and spiritually. I take this responsibility very seriously.
Certainly, there are many artificial methods of birth control available. You may have experience with some already. Although I am qualified to prescribe birth control, I made a decision several years ago to stop prescribing or recommending these artificial methods. There are several reasons why, and I’d like to share some of them with you. (more…)
Getting Beyond “I Can’t”
We travel the entire United States of America proclaiming the Gospel of Life as it pertains to God’s plan for spousal love. This plan calls for a total gift of self to one’s spouse and the acceptance of her total gift of self in kind. Contraception makes such an unconditional gift impossible. Natural Family Planning fosters these values, and cooperates with them.
Everywhere we go we find married couples asking, “Why won’t our priests address the issue of contraception and sterilization from the pulpit?” Having heard these frustrated questions many times, we think it is time to list the top eight excuses given by priests and our answers to them: (more…)
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?
In 2005, the World Health Organization classified oral contraceptives as a Group I carcinogen—the most dangerous classification known.[2] Also, a comprehensive meta-analysis* published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings in October, 2006[3] 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.
3) How serious of a problem is breast cancer?
Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in U. S. in women age 20-59. In the U.S. about 211,000 women are diagnosed annually and over 40,000 die from this disease.[4] More than one in five women who are diagnosed with breast cancer (ie, 47,000 women annually) will develop it before menopause. About one in eight women will develop breast cancer at some time in her life and one fourth of such women will die from this disease. Using the birth control pill, especially at a young age, markedly increases a woman’s risk for developing breast cancer. This risk is increased even higher when combined with other breast cancer risk factors such as induced abortion, hormone treatment (such as estrogen supplementation), family history of breast cancer, and other factors.
4) Do some contraceptives cause more risk than others?
Yes. Research studies show that breast cancer risk is almost tripled for women who used Depo-Provera for 2 years or more before age 25. [5]
5) Are other types of cancer affected by oral contraceptive pills?
Oral contraceptives decrease the risk of ovarian and uterine cancer, while they increase the risk of cervical and breast cancer. [6] Since breast cancer is far more prevalent than the other three types of gynecological cancers, the pills overall effect is detrimental to women.
6) Are there other risks from contraceptives?
Yes. Well known side effects of the Pill include an increased frequency of blood clots, high blood pressure, and heart attacks, as well as migraines, depression, loss of libido, and a variety of other disorders. Less well known is that oral contraceptives and injectable progestins (such
as Depo-Provera) significantly increase the risk of contracting and transmitting HIV (the AIDS virus). [7,8] In addition, medical studies strongly suggest that oral contraceptives work at times by causing an early abortion. [9]
8) How can I protect myself?
Many of the known risk factors for breast cancer can be avoided: hormone exposure (including hormonal contraceptives), induced abortion, heavy alcohol use, obesity, and radiation exposure. In addition, there is a significant reduction of risk with each child a woman bears. Every month of breastfeeding reduces breast cancer risk, as does bearing a child at a younger age. Some medications (e.g., raloxifene) which are taken after menopause to help strengthen bones have been shown to markedly reduce the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer and should be considered by all women at high risk.[10]
9) If hormonal contraceptives are so dangerous, what options do couples have?
Natural Family Planning (NFP) methods are available which use no chemicals or surgery and cause no increase in breast cancer risk. Not to be confused with the rhythm method, NFP is based on observations of a woman’s cervical mucus and (for some methods) other symptoms as well. One of the largest research studies of NFP (involving 19,843 women and performed in India by the World Health Organization) showed a pregnancy rate of 0.2 pregnancies per 100 women yearly. [11]
Natural Family Planning methods have been used to diagnose and treat a variety of female reproductive disorders including infertility. Various medical problems (e.g., excessive menstrual cramping and bleeding), which are sometimes treated with contraceptive hormones, can be treated far more safely with less toxic means (e.g., magnesium/calcium supplements and/or ibuprofen products).
10) How can I find out more about breast cancer risk from the Pill?
Anyone may download the Mayo Clinic meta-analysis article by clicking onto: www.MayoClinicProceedings.com . In addition, eleven of the seventeen chapters in the book Breast Cancer, Its Link to Abortion and the Birth Control Pill deal with cancer risks from birth control pills. [6]
11) Where can I find information about Natural Family Planning?
Natural Family Planning information is available from a number of national organizations:
Billings Ovulation Method Association (888) 637-6371www.Boma-usa.org
Couple to Couple League (513) 471-2000www.ccli.org
Family of the Americas (800) 443-3395www.familyplanning.net
National Conference of Catholic Bishops (202) 541-3240www.usccb.org
Northwest Family Services (503) 215-6377www.nwfs.org
One More Soul (800) 307-7685www.OMSoul.com
Pope Paul VI Institute (402) 390-6600www.popepaulvi.com
Many Catholic dioceses have NFP offices or family life offices which can supply NFP information. Local parishes and Catholic hospitals may also be good sources.
References
1. Anderson T, Battersby S, et al. Oral contraceptive use influences resting breast proliferation. Hum. Pathol. 1989; 20: 1139-1144.
2. World Health Organization International Agency for Research on Cancer. IARC Monographs. July 29, 2005.
3. Kahlenborn C, Modugno FM et al. Oral contraceptive use as a risk factor for premenopausal breast cancer: a meta-analysis. Mayo Clin Proc. 2006;81(10):1290-1302.
4. Breast Cancer Facts and Figures 2003-2004. American Cancer Society. (www.cancer.org)
5. Skegg DCG, Noonan EA, et al. Depot medroxyprogesterone acetate and breast cancer [A pooled analysis of the World Health Organization and New Zealand studies]. JAMA. 1995:799-804.
6. Kahlenborn C. Breast Cancer, Its Link to Abortion and the Birth Control Pill. One More Soul, Dayton, 2000.
7. Ungchusak, et al. Determinants of HIV infection among female commercial sex workers in northern Thailand: results from a longitudinal study. J Ac Immune Defic Syn Hum Retro. 1996. 12: 500-507.
8. Mostad SB, et al. Hormonal contraception, vitamin A deficiency and other risk factors for shedding HIV-1 infected cells from the cervix and the vagina. The Lancet 1997. 350: 922-927
9. Larimore WL, Stanford J. Postfertilization effects of oral contraceptives and their relationship to informed consent. Arch Fam Med. 9; 2000: 126-133
10. National Cancer Institute. Study of tamoxifen and raloxifene ( STAR) trial. April 26, 2006. (www.cancer.gov/star)
11. Ryder RE. Natural Family Planning: Effective birth control supported by the Catholic Church. Br Med J. 1993; 307: 723-726.
Dr. Chris Kahlenborn is practices Internal Medicine in Camp Hill, PA and is the current president of the Polycarp Research Institute (www.polycarp.org) He is the author of Breast Cancer, Its Link to Abortion and the Birth Control Pill on which this pamphlet is based.
Breast Cancer, Its Link to Abortion and the Birth Control Pill is available from One More Soul at (800) 307-7685 for a suggested donation of $5.95 for the soft cover edition and $13.95 for the hardback.
More resources from Dr. Kahlenborn available at One More Soul
Breast Cancer: Abortion and the Pill
This booklet presents the summary, conclusions, and recommendations from Chapter 17 of the book Breast Cancer, Its Link to Abortion and the Birth Control Pill. A great resource for explaining just how dangerous abortion and contraceptive pills are.KBCL $1.00
Breast Cancer Risk from Abortion
Information from the book Breast Cancer, It’s Link to Abortion and the Birth Control Pill, presented in a short and highly persuasive format. We have received letters and phone calls about babies saved from abortion when their mothers read this pamphlet. PBCA $0.35
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…)
Female Sterilization
What Every Woman Should Know about
- Tubal Ligation
- Sterilization by Tubal Inserts
- Sterilization Reversal
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. (more…)
