Elizabeth Nguyen is the Diocesan Director of the Office of Laity, Family and Life.
As we approach the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, it is important to consider some of the inroads that have been made in pro-life efforts in our own community. At one time there were five abortion clinics in the city of Corpus Christi. Now there are none. There are also numerous pregnancy resources centers throughout our diocese that offer resources and care for pregnant moms and their babies. Good news abounds in our South Texas region.
There is a side of pro-life activity that has been neglected, however, and it’s not very popular to mention. Young people, by and large, have disconnected sexuality from the gift of procreation. It’s as if we have forgotten the principles of basic biology and have passed on this horrible ignorance to our youth. At the root of this ignorance is the unquestioned reliance upon abortifacient contraceptive hormones to treat everything from irregular menstruation to cramping and acne. When doctors and other healthcare professionals have whole communities convinced about the health benefits of hormonal contraceptives, the results are devastating.
In only a year, I have fielded countless questions from bright young women who have been offered and many times pressured to ingest these chemical hormones for “health” reasons. What’s not often mentioned is the “added benefit” of being a backup for sexual activity outside of marriage that many consider to be an inevitability. Doctors and parents who encourage girls to begin taking birth control in their early reproductive years interrupt a natural cycle. This practice is a lost opportunity for education and self-awareness that could even one day save their lives.
What happens in this contraceptive culture is that a young woman is devalued. She is not trusted to have knowledge about her body. Instead, she is offered a course of treatment that shuts down a natural cycle that should be honored and celebrated. When the possibility of procreation is purposefully taken away, it is much easier for her to be viewed as an object to be used, both by herself and by the young men she encounters. And when the contraceptive fails, she is already of a mentality that the baby is an unwanted product of a casual encounter. It becomes very easy to rationalize abortion when all the protective walls have already broken down.
This is the sad chain of events that continues to perpetuate the acceptance of abortion in our culture. Many contraceptive methods are abortifacient, and those who make and distribute contraceptives know this fact. Therefore, in any effort to define conception as the moment that life begins, we’re already in a position that many have conceded. Contraception continues to be the stumbling block that many who oppose abortion can’t maneuver. It is because our culture has been so corrupted by its practice that we can’t conceive of a lifestyle without it.
There is, however, another way. It’s not the easy road of instant gratification or quick fixes. It’s the road of temperance and fortitude. When Jesus spoke of a “narrow road” and an “easy yoke” he was referring to virtues such as these that can be difficult to live because of our tendency to want to please ourselves first. We know what a world with unbridled self-indulgence looks like. It is a world in which people are used and abused, in which precious lives are seen as burdens, and in which we become unrecognizable to ourselves.
Some might have gotten the opportunity to see the movie Gosnell this past October. Kermit Gosnell was an abortion doctor in Philadelphia who was convicted of murder because it was discovered that he was killing infants who were born alive. In a matter of seconds, he would have been able to escape conviction had he completed the procedure inside the womb. But he made that easy leap that is currently prohibited by law. He was viewed as a monster by some, but it occurred to me while I was watching the film that we all make choices that make it easier to rationalize some horrible things. It’s a big, slippery slope when we choose to reject some biological realities, such as the whole purpose of the gift of fertility and sexuality, and instead embrace a culture that has gone off the rails.
This coming January, our diocese is sponsoring volunteers to become instructors of Natural Family Planning. It is a small way that we can begin to honor the beauty of creation by teaching others how to appreciate and respect their own bodies as God’s precious gifts. If you are interested in learning more about Natural Family Planning and how its benefits far surpass merely “following the rules”, please visit diocesecc.org/natural-family-planning. And if you are interested in becoming a Natural Family Planning teacher for our diocese, please email me [email protected].