Natural family planning - Letter to the Editor

National Catholic Reporter, March 12, 2004 by Adam Rewa, Rich Lang, Mary a. Johnson, Amy Hartman, Caroline Griffin Sheehan, Marilyn M. Kramer, William D'Antonio

* I just wanted to send along a note of thanks for your article in the Feb. 13 issue, "Speaking up for Natural Family Planning." My wife and I have used NFP for the 10 years of our marriage, and our experience has been much the same as the authors'. We have found it to be a wonderful, life-giving (not just child-giving!) component of our life together. It is a natural, healthy, simple alternative to contraception.

I think it is a shame that NFP is so often dismissed by the majority of Catholics as being a relic of the bad old days. In reality, it is pro-woman, pro-couple and pro-life in the largest sense of the word. I would encourage any couple to investigate NFP. Not even taking into account any theological or philosophical reasons for its use, NFP is a good choice.

ADAM REWA

Ionia, Mich.

* There is a word that defines people who use the rhythm method of birth control. They are known as "parents."

RICH LANG

San Francisco

* I applaud the article "Speaking Up for Natural Family Planning" by Jim Ternier and Marie-Louise Ternier-Gommers. My husband and I were required to attend a class on NFP during our marriage preparation in 1991. Once we understood the issues involved, we embraced NFP whole-heartedly. I had been active in the peace movement for a few years, and this natural approach to monitoring and respecting one's fertility fit right in with our desire to live out Gospel simplicity. Through the NFP community, we also learned about natural parenting (including exclusive breastfeeding) and nonviolent disciplining of children. Like NFP, these forms of child rearing can be demanding at times, but we believe they contribute greatly to our efforts to raise healthy, secure children who will make positive contributions to our world. Along with Jim and Marie-Louise, we regret the gulf between many advocates of NFP and so-called liberal Catholics. For us, the church's teachings on war, social justice and the environment go hand-in-hand with her teaching on family planning.

MARY & JOHNSON

Fort Stockton, Texas

* I completely disagree with the recent article "Speaking up for Natural Family Planning." The Catholic church should promote all forms of birth control, not just NFE. By forbidding all forms of contraception, the church is doing a huge disservice to its citizens. Recent studies have shown that the rates of teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases are at an all-time low, thanks to effective promotion of contraception. The Catholic church is living in the dark ages with regard to this issue. If nobody used contraception, the population of this Earth would be too great and human civilization would implode as a result. I am an intelligent, decent Catholic, and I will not be told how to protect myself by a bunch of men who molest children.

AMY HARTMAN

Decatur, Ga.

* I have no reason not to respect those couples who chose to use NFP as a method of contraception in their marriage. However, I take exception to the authors' statement that "NFP has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried." Indeed it was the only form of birth control used by the majority of Catholics in the last century. We, too, were idealistic and grew in mutual respect, good communication and in supporting our partners' fullest human potential. Many 50-year anniversaries have been celebrated with numbers of children, grandchildren and peers. The Catholic culture allowed no choice in family planning, and perhaps that and the results are why the next generation saw the unreliability of "rhythm," as it was called. Like most of our Catholic friends, our stories were similar. We had rhythm. Ours are named Christie, Tom, Pat, Tim, Mary, Michael and Callie. Molly, our fourth child, died of SIDS and my ninth pregnancy in 12 years was a miscarriage. The medical advice was that if I wanted to be able to raise our family, contraceptives were advisable. No, I don't think it can be said that NFP has not been tried. Consciousness of the sacredness of life continues and Catholics with more complex reasons and choices still have the responsibility of making informed choices according to their conscience.

CAROLINE GRIFFIN SHEEHAN

Seattle

* Their love glows from between the lines of the article on Natural Family Planning written by Jim Ternier and Marie-Louise Ternier-Gommers. There can be no doubt that NFP enriched and nourished their marriage. On the other hand, many of their contemporaries experienced an increase in enrichment and nourishment of their marriage when they switched to contraceptive birth control. There is something to be learned from the contrast between these lived experiences. Perhaps contraception does not turn sex into a hedonistic, self-centered pleasure. Perhaps the God-given connection that should not be broken is the connection between sex and mutually committed loving rather than the connection between sex and reproduction. Perhaps it is not contraception but the lack of or failure of ongoing committed loving that falsifies conjugal love.