498. What are immoral means of birth control?
(Comp 498) Every action - for example, direct sterilization or contraception - is
intrinsically immoral which (either in anticipation of the conjugal act, in its
accomplishment or in the development of its natural consequences) proposes, as
an end or as a means, to hinder procreation.
“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 2370) Periodic continence, that is, the methods of
birth regulation based on self-observation and the use of infertile periods, is
in conformity with the objective criteria of morality (HV 16). These methods
respect the bodies of the spouses, encourage tenderness between them, and favor
the education of an authentic freedom. In contrast, "every action which,
whether in anticipation of the conjugal act, or in its accomplishment, or in
the development of its natural consequences, proposes, whether as an end or as
a means, to render procreation impossible" is intrinsically evil (HV 14):
Thus the innate language that expresses the total reciprocal self-giving of
husband and wife is overlaid, through contraception, by an objectively
contradictory language, namely, that of not giving oneself totally to the
other. This leads not only to a positive refusal to be open to life but also to
a falsification of the inner truth of conjugal love, which is called upon to
give itself in personal totality.... The difference, both anthropological and
moral, between contraception and recourse to the rhythm of the cycle… involves
in the final analysis two irreconcilable concepts of the human person and of
human sexuality (FC 32).
Reflection
(CCC 2371) "Let all be convinced that human life and the
duty of transmitting it are not limited by the horizons of this life only:
their true evaluation and full significance can be understood only in reference
to man's eternal destiny" (GS 51
§ 4). (CCC 2372) The state has a responsibility for its citizens' well-being.
In this capacity it is legitimate for it to intervene to orient the demography
of the population. This can be done by means of objective and respectful
information, but certainly not by authoritarian, coercive measures. The state
may not legitimately usurp the initiative of spouses, who have the primary
responsibility for the procreation and education of their children (Cf. HV 23;
PP 37). It is not authorized to intervene in this area with means contrary to
the moral law.
