A Reflection on the Regulation of Birth in the light of Pope Paul VI’s teachings

Married person as completely free and responsible co-workers of God the creator is the most serious duty of transmitting life. This duty, of course, has been the source of great joys within the married couple and the people that surrounds them perhaps. However, this duty entails difficulties and distress. I guess that there is not a single couple who would dare to say that it was an easy job.

With the evolution of the society, a lot of changes had taken place. Pope Paul VI, in his encyclical Humanae Vitae, gave few examples of this changes that the society is currently experiencing, but I would much rather like to cite one—rapid demographic development. This particular example pertains to the fast growth of the world’s population than the availability of the resources that the people need in order to sustain. This poses a problem to the many families and developing countries because it causes great demands which could be detrimental to families and to the nation itself. This particular change triggers the authorities to take measures in order to avert future problems.

Pope Paul VI would say that this new state of things gives rise to new questions which have arisen from the minds of the modern people. These questions closely touches life itself and the happiness of man. These questions were about the revision of the ethical norms on regulating birth, family planning, and so on. Such questions required a new and deeper reflection upon the principles of the moral teaching on marriage, Pope Paul VI would say. He emphasized that this teaching should be founded on the natural law and illumination from the divine revelation.

But in this postmodern era, is the Church competent to answer these questions? Pope Paul VI said that the Church is the surest authority in interpreting all the laws concerning not just that of the Gospel but of the moral and natural law.

Going back to the problem mentioned earlier, actions by the authorities were already made to address this problem. Attempts to justify artificial birth control have been so clamorous especially by those people who sees that this could answer the problem of population growth.

In our country today, the attempt to justify artificial methods of birth control has been so successful that it was passed into law. Perhaps, a good number of the people of the Philippines has already the background of what the Reproductive Health Law is all about. Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan, in his pastoral letter Contraception is Corruption, said that the Reproductive Health Law will put the moral fiber of our nation at risk. He added that a contraceptive mentality is the mother of abortive mentality. This means that the use of contraception is tantamount to abortion.

In this Reproductive Health Law, the youth will seem to be believe that pre-marital sex is acceptable because contraceptives are urged to be used in order to avoid pregnancy. The wide and free accessibility of the contraceptives will probably result to the destruction of families and of women.

But why is the Church really against the justification of artificial birth control? In Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI said that since in the attempt to justify artificial methods of birth control many appeal to the demands of married love or of responsible parenthood. He added that these two important realities of married life must be accurately defined and analyzed. This will shed light on why this artificial birth control is against the Church’s stance on abortion, contraception and other issues of human life.

Married love and responsible parenthood, these are the two great realities of married life as mentioned earlier. Pope Paul VI teaches us that the true nature of married love originates from God, Who is Love. He said that marriage is not a product of chance but a wise institution of God to make manifest his design of love. As a consequence to their marriage, the husband and wife became one and shares everything as one.

Pope Paul VI gives four characteristics that constitutes married love. It is human, total, faithful and exclusive, and most of all fecund. This married love is first of all human because it is of the senses and of the spirit at the same time. Meaning it is not just a product of natural instinct but an act of the free will, that is to say, through joys and sorrows the husband and wife become one heart and one soul only, and together attain human happiness.

This love is also total because it is a very special form of personal friendship bonded by the sacrament of Matrimony. The husband and wife munificently share everything without reservations and selfish calculations. That is to say that the whoever truly loves his partner loves not only for what he receives but for the enrichment also of his partner.

Married love is faithful and exclusive. This means that the husband and wife remains faithful and exclusive to each other until death. Although this can sometimes be relatively difficult, this fidelity is very noble. Pope Paul VI wanted to emphasize that throughout the many married person of the last centuries, fidelity shows that it is a source of profound and lasting happiness to the husband and wife.

And finally, this love is fecund. As Gaudium et Spes would say that marriage and married love are by nature ordained toward the begetting and educating of children. Procreation will always be a part of married life.

Pope Paul VI teaches us of what responsible parenthood is all about. Responsible parenthood means the knowledge and respect of their function which is mainly procreation. Responsible parenthood above all implies profound relationship with God.

In conformity with these two great realities of married life, Pope Paul VI declares that the direct interruption of the generative process are to illicit means of regulating birth. Using contraception to prevent pregnancy is proved to be an illicit mean of regulating birth. Is it not valid to argue, Pope Paul VI would say, that a lesser evil is to be preferred to a greater one. Although we could say that it is true that sometimes it is lawful to tolerate a lesser moral evil in order to avoid a greater evil or in order to promote a greater good. However, Pope Paul VI says that it is never lawful, even for the gravest reasons, to do evil that good may come of it.

The consequence of artificial birth control is that the course of action could open wide the way for infidelity to one’s partner and a lowering of moral standards. Pope Paul VI added another effect that gives cause for alarm is that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman and reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection. 

Perhaps, Pope Paul VI’s teaching on the regulation of birth would somehow give initial reasons why the Reproductive Health Law should have not been passed into law. In Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI urges man not to betray his personal responsibilities by putting all his faith in modern means of propaganda. In this way we can defend the dignity of husband and wife. This course of action shows that the Church is sincere and unselfish in her regard for men whom she strives to help even now during this earthly pilgrimage to share God's life as sons of the living God, the Father of all men.