Saturday, May 25, 2013
497. When is it moral to regulate births?
(Comp 497) The regulation of births, which is an aspect of responsible fatherhood
and motherhood, is objectively morally acceptable when it is pursued by the
spouses without external pressure; when it is practiced not out of selfishness
but for serious reasons; and with methods that conform to the objective criteria
of morality, that is, periodic continence and use of the infertile periods.
“In brief”
(CCC 2399) The regulation of births represents one of the
aspects of responsible fatherhood and motherhood. Legitimate intentions on the
part of the spouses do not justify recourse to morally unacceptable means (for
example, direct sterilization or contraception).
To deepen and
explain
(CCC 2368) A particular aspect of this responsibility
concerns the regulation of procreation.
For just reasons, spouses may wish to space the births of their children. It is
their duty to make certain that their desire is not motivated by selfishness
but is in conformity with the generosity appropriate to responsible parenthood.
Moreover, they should conform their behavior to the objective criteria of
morality: When it is a question of harmonizing married love with the
responsible transmission of life, the morality of the behavior does not depend
on sincere intention and evaluation of motives alone; but it must be determined
by objective criteria, criteria drawn from the nature of the person and his
acts, criteria that respect the total meaning of mutual self-giving and human
procreation in the context of true love; this is possible only if the virtue of
married chastity is practiced with sincerity of heart (GS 51 § 3).
Reflection
(CCC 2369) "By safeguarding both these essential
aspects, the unitive and the procreative, the conjugal act preserves in its
fullness the sense of true mutual love and its orientation toward man's exalted
vocation to parenthood" (Cf. HV 12).
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