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Contraception and Birth Control - Coggle Diagram
Contraception and Birth Control
General
Contraception= umbrella term that includes any way to prevent a pregnancy as a result of sexual intercourse
Types of contraception
Natural
condom
pill
Coil/ IUD
femidom
diaphragm
sterilization
Artificial
rhythm
withdrawl
How they work
prevent woman from releasing eggs (ovulation) e.g. the pill
prevent sperm from reaching or fertilizing the egg e.g. condom
few interfere with a fertilized egg attaching (implanting) in the womb (uterus), which is essential for a viable pregnancy e.g. emergency pill/ IUD
Birth Control= any device or practice that prevents birth, including elective abortion
Abortifacient
drug that causes miscarriage/ abortion
morning after pill???
IUD- releases copper to prevent implantation
Hobby Lobby
2014- under Obama's Affordable Care Act, employers were to provide insurance cover for birth control for their employees
Hobby Lobby= owned by christian evangelists- objected to paying for emergency birth control e.g. Plan B & Ella (known as morning after pill) + 2 types of IUD's
believe these types of birth control amount to an abortion- company did not object to covering other forms of contraception e.g. birth control pills
June 2014- Supreme Court ruled in favour of Hobby Lobby
meant that US government cannot require certain employers to provide insurance coverage for emergency contraception if they conflict with the employer's religious beliefs
Benefits of Contraception
Prevents STD's
form of protection for women
good for economy as women can work
family planning
if want to have children later in life- then when?
helps existing children
prevents overpopulation
alleviates number living in starvation
encourages gender justice
helps girls in developing world= more than mothers
promotes health
helps women with hormonal problems
can lighten period and reduce cramping pain
What does the Church say about Contraception?
Roman Catholic
Pope Sixtus V
took the strongest conservative stance against contraception in Catholic history
with papal bull "Effraenatam", ordered all church and civil penalties for homicide to be brought against those who practiced contraception
both church and civil authorities refused to enforce his orders, and laypeople virtually ignored them
3 years after death next pope repealed most of sanctions and told Christians to treat it "as if it had never been issued"
19th Century
scientific knowledge about human reproductive systems advanced, and contraceptive technologies had improved
Victorian- era sensibilities, deterred most Catholic clergy from preaching on issue of sex and contraception
1886 penitential manual instructed confessors to ask parishioners explicitly whether they practiced contraception and to refuse absolution for sins unless they stopped, "the order was virtually ignored"
20th Century
consequence of increasing availability and use of contraceptives by Catholics, church teaching on birth control- became visible priority
papacy decided to bring the dialogue about contraception out of a scholarly theological discussions between clergy into ordinary exchanges between Catholic couples & their priests
Pope Pius XI declared that contraception was inherently evil and any spouse practicing any act of contraception "violates the law of God and nature" and was "stained by a great and mortal flaw"
condoms, diaphragms, the rhythm method & withdrawl method were forbidden- only abstinence permissible to prevent conception
1950's
church modified stance again
approved rhythm method for couples who had "morally valid reasons for avoiding procreation"
artificial contraception was growing e.g. the pill
devout Catholics wanted explicit permission to use them
allowed natural methods including sexual abstinence
Humanae Vitae
used papal authority to assert that "every conjugal act has to be open to the transmission of life"
encyclical prohibits all forms of artificial birth control
Humanae vitae came as surprise to most church leaders and left many of the laity in a painful conflict between obedience and conscience
600 catholic scholars signed statement challenging Humanae Vitae
Modern View
uses Augustine's views- marital intercourse for procreation
reaffirmed procreation & bringing up children
"excluded is any action, which either before, at the moment of, or after sexual intercourse is specifically intended to prevent procreation
1997- Vatican's Pontifical Council
contraception= "intrinsically evil"
"gravely opposed marital chastity"
stopped procreation
harmed love between a couple
took away God's role of in transmitting human life
Pope Francis- "The Joy of Love"
stressed that a couple's individual conscience- not dogmatic rules imposed across the board- must guide their decisions and the church's pastoral practice
"we have been called to form consciences, not to replace them"
Early Church
first Christians knew about contraception and likely practised it
Egyptian, Hebrew, Greek and Roman texts, discuss well-known contraceptive practices ranging from the withdrawl method to the use of crocodile dung, dates and honey to block of kill semen
when first Christian theologians condemned contraception, they did so not on basis of biblical teaching but because of its links with heretic groups and immoral practices
before 20th century, theologians assumed that those who practiced contraception was "fornicators" and "prostitutes"
Clement of Alexandria
teachings associate sexual intercourse with guilt and argued that sex could only be justified by the obvious need to reproduce
argued that sex during pregnancy was wrong as it couldn't led to reproduction and was purely hedonistic
argued that human soul fled the body during sex
Augustine
condemned natural family planning
characterized the sexual act between spouses as immoral self-indulgence if the couple tried in any way to prevent conception
Presbyterian
"contraception surely has a place in Christian marriage when it is mutually agreed upon and seen as a method of postponing or spacing or limiting the bearing of children in order to provide opportunities to finish education, develop the personal relationship between spouses and to enable the couple to provide better nurture and support to those children they choose to have"
"Planned parenthood is an essential aspect of stewardship for the married couple and those preparing for marriage... it is clear that the use of contraceptives for the purpose of avoiding pregnancy is in a sexual relationship outside marriage is a misuse of God' gift and contraceptive methods"
"Of course it is better to use a contraceptive than to have an unwanted baby or contract a sexually transmitted disease but Christians should want to advocate God's best, not settle for the lowest common denominator"
Anglican
1920- Lambeth Conference= birth control is immoral
1930- Lambeth Conference
"moral obligation to limit or avoid parenthood"
"obvious method is abstinence"
"other methods may be used, provided that this is done in the light of the same Christian principles"
now agree that a couple shouldn't feel threatened by the possibility of more children every time they have sex
Protestants
instead of seeing sex as something rather dangerous, many Christians began to regard sex as one of God's great gifts
change in 19th century as theologians became more willing to accept that morality should come from the conscience of each individual rather than from outside teachings
Sex was a force that could preserve the institution of marriage if couples didn't feel threatened by the possibility of having children they could not support
concluded that as the use of birth control often lead to stronger families and better marriages, churches should let believers use birth control as their own conscience dictated
emphasizes the unitive aspect of sex
up to individual conscience
no longer a sin
debates about types of contraception- abortifacient
prudent family planning
outside of marriage= no
Methodist
"The church advocates responsible family planning, with the use of contraception"
Secular Views
Utilitarianism
accept contraception as way to give women freedom and limit family size
good consequences- prevents unwanted pregnancies and gives women control over their own lives
many benefits of contraception
pill can be used to regulate a women's hormones
also reduce risk of cancer in ovaries and womb
can woman's period shorter, lighter and less painful
JS Mill
first utilitarian to campaign in favour of contraception
arrested for distributing obscene literature, material that showed how to use contraception
greatest good for greatest number= not achieved of women denied liberty
arrested 17 times for helping poor people obtain birth control
Singer's Views
moral obligation to assist the poor
"we can assist poor countries to raise the living standards of the poorest members of their population..... We can also help other countries to make contraception and sterilization widely available"
Virtue Ethics
no clear cut view
Rosalind Hursthouse
contraception leads to casual sex= not virtuous
Michael Slote
use of contraceptives can be seen as caring
prevent spread of disease
prevent unwanted pregnancies
responsible and prudent
controlling population also seen as caring
some say this is too simplistic
China's one child policy?
some virtue ethicists say that if a person knows they won't be a good parent, then they have a duty to use contraception
Humanist
seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious beliefs
no ethical objections
Contraception results in "every child being a wanted child and in better, healthier lives for women"
Feminist
promotes greater gender equality