Fifth Sunday of Easter April 28, 2013 Corpus Christi Catholic Church

Life IssuesContraceptionIt’s not breaking news that many oral contraceptives and some invasive barrier methods (IUD) have been provento cause abortion, including the highly controversial ella and Plan B drugs. But what about artificial contraceptionthat prevents conception from taking place?What is the church’s stance on artificial contraception?As a Catholic physician, what is the right decision to make when a woman asks for birth control? What if she isliving below the poverty line, has 3 or 4 children, hasn’t obtained a high-school diploma, and is co-habiting witha man? Presumably, she’s aware of the possibility of pregnancy and could be afraid of how she will feed andclothe another child.What do you say?Here’s how that conversation should be started:1) Artificial birth control, no matter what form, doesn’t completely prevent conception. In fact, it providesa false sense of security. The Guttmacher Institute, Planned Parenthood’s own research arm, released studyshowing that condoms fail 14% of the time. Guttmacher’s own numbers show that over half of all abortions areon women who were using some method of birth control. This evidence contradicts the pro-abortion propagandaclaiming that if women had better access to birth control, abortions would become unnecessary.2) Artificial birth control comes with its own complications and risks. It some cases, it’s deadly for boththe child and mother. Oral and invasive methods of birth control come with complications. In addition to bloodclots and strokes, chemical contraceptives have been proven to end the life of a preborn human mere hours ordays after conception by thinning the uterine lining and making implantation more difficult for the developingperson. Invasive methods that are implanted into your upper arm or uterus come with the same set of risks toboth the mother and child. The most common form of hormonal contraception, the pill, has been categorized bythe World Health Organization as a Group I carcinogen. That’s the highest possible ranking; cigarettes are also inGroup I. These hormones get into our water supplies and affect others.3) Condoms and birth control are everywhere. You can obtain them for free, yet the abortion and STDrates haven’t fallen. Planned Parenthood and county health departments have been giving out free condoms andbirth control for years. Yet, the unplanned pregnancy, abortion, and STD rate in America has not fallen; and, inthe case of STDs, has significantly increased4) Finally, and most importantly, artificial birth control is immoral. Why? Man/woman is made in the imageof God. What is the image of God? The Trinty – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This love relationship is the authorof all new life. Humans are made in this image of love and are made to love. It is marriage that is a direct icon ofthe Trinity. Thus, marriage is made for family. God chose an act of love between a man and a woman to be themeans of bringing new life into the world. Thus, each act of sexual union is to be open to the possibility of creatingnew life. Any act of sexual union between a husband and a wife that is not open to new life becomes an act ofselfishness. In addition, any sexual union outside of marriage is not in the plan of God. Thus, all humans livingoutside the marriage bond are called to abstinenceThe Respect Life Ministry will be selling fresh longstemred roses for Mother's Day. Show your appreciationfor "The Gift of Life" to your mom this Mother'sDay weekend by getting a single, half dozen ordozen. All proceeds go to the Respect Life Ministryhere at Corpus Christi.ROSARY FOR LIFECome pray the Pro-Life Rosary at CorpusChristi on Tuesday morningsin the church after the 8:30 a.m. MassPrayer makes a difference