Everything Natural

11. The sexual activity, in which husband and wife are intimately and chastely united with one another, through which human life is transmitted, is, as the recent Council recalled, "noble and worthy.'' (11) It does not, moreover, cease to be legitimate even when, for reasons independent of their will, it is foreseen to be infertile. For its natural adaptation to the expression and strengthening of the union of husband and wife is not thereby suppressed. The fact is, as experience shows, that new life is not the result of each and every act of sexual intercourse. God has wisely ordered laws of nature and the incidence of fertility in such a way that successive births are already naturally spaced through the inherent operation of these laws. The Church, nevertheless, in urging men to the observance of the precepts of the natural law, which it interprets by its constant doctrine, teaches that each and every marital act must of necessity retain its intrinsic relationship to the procreation of human life. (12)

This extremely long paragraph covers a few extreme topics. In real people language this could be interpreted (by me) as when a married couple has sex it is noble, and it still is noble even if one or both of the persons involved are “sterile” and cannot conceive kids together or have sex and it is against their will to conceive kids. This is appropriate still because it does not change the bonding experience, per se, between the couple. God has designated plans and laws of nature that make sure people do not conceive children when it is not an appropriate time (according to the Pope), and their children will be appropriately spaced out. It’s also said that every time the couple has sex, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the couple is trying to get pregnant but they must be at ease with that possibility (basically saying there is no justification for birth control).

The most apparent and significant issue that I have pulled out of this is the fact that he says there isn’t any justification for birth control, and when a married couple has sex (which is the only time that sex is allowed), they must be okay with the fact they may get pregnant, and they are not allowed to use any other source of birth control. This is because, he explains, they will not get pregnant if it isn’t the right time, and that all of the children will be spaced out appropriately.

…Really?

Having sex (newsflash) is more than just the want for a couple to procreate. It is a mixture of hormones, love, emotions, possibly the want to make offspring, among several other things. It is ridiculously naive and immature to believe that a couple will only have sex when they know it is appropriate to have a child. Why would birth control exist if that were the case? Are we all really perfect beings, and never make mistakes (or sin), and never do anything that could possibly be against our morals? This thoroughly thought through life is a great idea if we were all completely emotionless, thought rationally one hundred percent of the time, and didn’t have any wants or needs whatsoever. But, guess what. We are the human race. We are extremely imperfect, get pregnant when we thought it wasn’t even possible, do things without knowing the consequences, etc. That’s a part of growing up and learning.

I also beg to differ with the suggestion that God is going to make sure through laws of nature and other ideas that births will be spaced out to what they’re supposed to be. I think he needs to check out the new reality show of the couple with twenty children… and my grandfather comes from a family with eleven children. The consequences of believing that is the truth is detrimental to the lives of the parents and the children. In biology class all you need is a sperm and an egg and a child is created. This can happen virtually anytime of the month especially depending on the age of the woman. How can you be able to definitively say that won’t happen, just because it isn’t supposed to. Things happen all the time when they aren’t supposed to, and when they aren’t in the best interest of the individual.

Don’t you want what is best for your (future) children? And is that to be in complete control of when you’re going to have children or just letting it happen when it happens? If a family can only financially be stable with one child, then I believe the family should be able to know they are not going to be getting pregnant unexpectedly. I believe that the family is taking responsibility and the care of their children into their hands, which is what parenting really is.