
A baby is the physical embodiment of a couple’s love. Their love was so strong, that after 9 months, they gave it a name. The gift of sexual love and procreation and the ability to co-create an eternal, immortal soul is something the angels do not possess. To be able to make something that was not there before is truly incredible. But, as Spiderman knows, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
Fertility is not a disease that needs to be suppressed or feared. It is a normal aspect of health which ought to be understood, treasured and respected by men and women. It is good to be fertile, normal and healthy. At present, many have been lied to about what ‘reproductive health’ actually means. This phrase has been used to promote poor choices that are destructive personally and culturally. Such practices as sterilisation, artificial reproduction, contraception, cohabitation, pre marital sex are part of the culture of death and encourage single parenthood, divorce, abortion, homosexuality, family domestic violence and social disintegration.
But amidst this bad news there is a quiet counter cultural revolution going on. There are some good doctors who are involved in family planning, infertility treatment and gynaecological health care. Dr Phil Boyle is one such doctor in Ireland, advocating the use of fertility care and Naprotechnology as part of this clear and healthy vision of the human person. I recently went to a talk where Dr Phil told me of an extreme case. A woman experienced 6 miscarriages and came for treatment. But with the use of Napro technology, she was able to conceive at 40 years old and have a child! This is a mini miracle of moral medicine! This reminded me of the book of Tobit where Sarah has seven husbands but they all died on the wedding night. Tobias prays and is helped by an Angel and they live happily ever after.
Boyle stated that the future of Natural family planning might be with the pre treatment of couples. This can solve problems before you even knew they existed. You can successfully chart a woman’s cycle to find out the details of fertility and to avoid any problems. This type of medicine is far better than IVF which is an immoral and daunting experience I wouldn’t want even my worst enemy to go through.
These new methods are a work of love, inspired by God and involve good science and medicine fostering a climate of truth and beauty for couples. There are hundreds of new young doctors who are encouraging couples to embrace ethical fertility care that promote good choices both personally and culturally. This is empowering couples to embrace the theology of the body.
Humanae Vitae (n.24) called for men of science to develop means of fertility regulation in line with the moral law. Professor Thomas Hilger and Billings were able to do precisely that. Naprotechnology is a new reproductive science that has developed with precision and considerable accuracy. The journal of reproductive medicine (June ’98) reported that a 5 study composite showed the Creighton model was 96.8% effective at avoiding pregnancy.
Naprotechnology is successful both at avoiding and achieving pregnancy. It has an average success rate of 50% for infertile couples. Even couples that failed IVF have a 20-30% chance of success and it treats recurrent miscarriages with an 80% success. However it cannot help couples who have past the menopause, have their tubes blocked or are not able to produce sperm. But, tt can help some couples where IVF cannot help.
Naprotechnology restores the link between love and life. There is a direct link between contraception and unplanned pregnancies, STIs and abortion. Contraception attempts to sever the link between love and life. It involves a subconscious mental shift in favour of abortion. The modern scientific mentality tries to tell us, “Let’s do it, because we can.” But the essence of life is a mystery which cannot be measured scientifically. This mystery must be treated with reverence. Although we can manipulate human life, we cannot create life purely by ourselves because we are always co-creators with God.
Infertility is set to be a huge issue in the coming decades in Britain. 1 in 6 couples are likely to have fertility problems. IVF is an expensive, immoral, damaging and dangerous procedure that hurts a lot. Some things in life cannot be delegated to a third party. Playing God by creating and destroying embryos is tampering with human life and is a horrendous crime. Such immoral practice has left 2 million embryos dead in the UK alone. Every person that has been involved with IVF will have to give an account of their responsibility for the destruction of human life. It is sheer foolishness to have blood on your hands at the end of your life when you go to meet the creator. God knows us even before we are born. In Jeremiah 1:5 it states: “”Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.” A child is the fruit of love not the labour of love.
Father Frank Pavone once stated that the quest for ethical medical practice is in fact a spiritual battle between life and death. Christ gave us his body that others might live. Abortion supporters cling to their bodies that others might die. Abortion teaches one to sacrifice the other person that I might live. But Jesus’ life was given up in self giving, life giving love. Einstein said that there were 2 ways to live your life- either nothing is a miracle or everything is a miracle. St Paul tells us to favour the latter proposition because God “by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think,” (Ephesians 3:20). For this we should give God glory to all generations for ever and ever. The safe and ethical transition from generation to generation will help us to keep singing his praises so that he might find faith on earth when he comes again.