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Contraception
Respect for the gift of life includes respect for human sexuality and the procreative powers of the human person. The Church teaches that there is a proper use of the procreative powers rooted in the nature of being male or female and in marital love. The procreative powers of the human person are designed to be used exclusively in the complete, mutual self-donation of spouses to each other in marriage. The procreative and unitive aspects of sexual intercourse should mutually fulfill each other in each and every marital act. To sever the connection between the procreative and unitive meanings of the marital act with contraception is to act against our own human good. This teaching recognizes that children may legitimately be postponed for serious reasons, but that the means used to avoid pregnancy should respect the nature of the marital act.
Testimony:
SB 42 – Relative to Employee Notification of Contraceptive Coverage - March 2, 2015
Read More:
Vatican II, The Church in the Modern World (ns. 47–52)
On the Regulation of Birth (Humanae Vitae)
On the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World
Catechism of the Catholic Church (ns. 2360–2371)
U.S. Bishops’ Pastoral Letter on Marriage
USCCB Resources on Contraception
