Natural Family Planning

This post is part 10 of an on-going series: "Statements All Catholics Should be Able to Answer."

10. “Natural Family Planning is just the Catholic version of birth control.”

Natural Family Planning (NFP) has enemies on all sides. Some believe that it’s an unrealistic alternative to birth control (which they don’t think is sinful anyway) while others think that it’s just as bad as birth control. NFP has had to walk a fine line between both extremes.

First of all, the main problem with birth control is that it works against the nature of our bodies — and nature in general. It aims to sever the act (sex) from its consequence (pregnancy), basically reducing the sacredness of sex to the mere pursuit of pleasure.

Secondly, many forms of birth control work by causing early abortions. I used to think that birth control simply prevented the sperm and egg from meeting . . . . . but that is just not the case. In fact, even the "morning after pill" is now classified as birth control.

NFP, when used for the right reason, is more of a tool used for discerning whether a couple has the means (whether financially, physically, or emotionally) to accept a child into their lives. It involves understanding your own body, taking careful stock of your situation in life, discussing the issue with your spouse, and, above all, prayer.

Rather than cutting yourself off from the full reality of sex, you are entering into it with a better understanding of all aspects involved. People who favor birth control point to those people who can’t afford more children, or whose health might be at risk from further pregnancies. But these are perfectly legitimate reasons to use NFP — situations where it would be perfectly effective — and the Church allows its use.

Other people think that taking any sort of control over the size of your family is like playing God, rather than letting Him provide for us as He sees fit. It’s true that we must trust God and always accept the lives He sends us, but we don’t need to be completely hands-off in that regard.

For example, rather than throwing money around and saying that “God will provide,” families carefully budget their finances and try not to overextend their means. NFP is like that budget, helping us prayerfully consider our situation in life and act accordingly. It’s part of our nature as humans to understand ourselves and use our intellect and free will, rather than passively expecting God to take care of everything.

We’re called to be good stewards of the gifts we’re given; we must be careful never to treat those gifts carelessly.