My Contraceptive Convictions

January 08, 2005

An article written by La Mere's Founder, Bethany Vaughn.

My Contraceptive Convictions started when I was just a young teenager. As I look back, I realize now that my convictions then were just in word. Not until I was engaged to be married did I stop and really think about these convictions but even then it was still a conviction with my mouth and not my total being. My husband and I agreed that we would not use birth control for not only moral reasons but medical reasons as well. At times it has been hard for us not to give in to the easy way of life, walk the wide path and let ourselves decide what is best, instead of God. We, however, have stood strong and not wavered in our convictions and are now at a place in our lives where the Contraceptive Conviction is not only said with our mouth but believed in our hearts and displayed in our very lives. We have a deep abiding conviction in this area of life, so deep and strong that we are compelled to let the truth be known.

My convictions are not merely based on personal feelings, but because of my interest in women's health issues, I have studied this issue for a while now, only to be amazed at the cloud of deception lurking over millions of women on the issue of contraception. I have learned much through my own experiences and research as well as my training in the areas of pregnancy and childbirth, that I have become passionate in my response to birth control.

There are numerous reasons to be concerned about birth control, but I will only cover a few main areas of vital importance. First, there are serious medical concerns. All hormonal methods are potentially abortifacient. Roughly, 8.1 to 12.75 million lives each are aborted through the use of contraceptives. This includes the Pill (all types) Depo-Provera and Norplant as well as IUDs.

There has been some confusion on the abortifacient nature of hormonal methods, like the Pill, Depo-Provera or Norplant. Many in the medical community, including some medical organizations such a ACOG (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) or even the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), say that birth control methods are completely safe and do not cause chemical abortions. I would like to clear up this misconception. Many medical professionals have differing views of conception. Some even believe life is not life until birth. But these views are obviously not true. There are some not so obvious views of conception that, I believe, have deceived many people into thinking that taking birth control is perfectly safe and harmless. The two silent views are this:

1.) Many medical professionals believe that life begins at conception, which is fertilization of the egg by the sperm.

2.) Many other medical professionals believe that life starts at implantation....when the baby implants into the side of the wall of the uterus.

Under many doctors beliefs, the Pill, Depo-Provera or Norplant, and the IUD are not abortifacient because they do not believe in life at fertilization. They believe in life at implantation. In this view, if a woman on birth control conceives where the egg and sperm unite but do not implant, many in the medical field see this as nothing else than a function of birth control. I ,too, see this as a function of birth control--but a function that aborts a newly conceived human being. This is the big difference and a serious deception.

To the many doctors that believe in life beginning at implantation and to the many medical organizations that also believe this fallacy, birth control is not abortifacient in nature in their deceived opinion. And I say deceived opinion only because it is at conception that the two cells, egg and sperm unite into one separate, unique, alive, never before human life that is instantly programed for life and not at implantation!

But if you believe that life begins at conception then all hormonal methods and IUD's have abortifacient function possibilities. The percentage of time in which they are abortive differs in what hormonal method is used. For example, modern combination pills contain less estrogen than their predecessors allowing eggs to be released by the ovaries up to 10% of the time. Which means that it is possible with this type of pill to be aborting one baby every ten months without the knowledge of the woman.

The Pill is a multi-functional drug. The main function is to suppress ovulation; meaning that it is not allowing the female body to release ovum or eggs during the normal monthly cycle time. The combination pill, fails to prevent ovulation anywhere between 23% and 50% of the time, therefore, almost guaranteeing the possibility of conception. If conception occurs, the other two functions of the pill will take over. The "mini" pill is the progesterone only pill but does not exempt ovulation and conception. Depo-provea and Norplant also have ovulation rates.

The second function of the pill is to thicken the cervical mucus. This does several things. First of all, it keeps the mucus in a continual state of thickness by keeping it locked into one stage in the cycle by tricking the chemical makeup of the body. The mucus is thickened within the cervix to prevent the sperm from reaching the egg. If the sperm does reach the egg conception is likely to take place but because of the unnatural conditions it was put through, the fertilized egg has difficulty in implanting in a timely fashion. Normally, implantation is 4 to 10 days after conception.

The third function of the pill is to alter the lining of the uterus. Chemicals in the pill retard the normal build-up process of the nutrients on the wall of the uterus making the uterine wall hostile towards the newly fertilized egg. Without the proper conditions and nourishment the baby can not implant properly and dies because of lack of nourishment and is shed during the woman's period. This is a chemical abortion.

Women who are on hormonal methods of birth control should be seriously concerned . The abortifacient potential and the chemical changes that take place in the chemistry of the woman's body has short and long term effects on her life. Minor side effects include migraine headaches, depression, nausea, fatigue, skin rashes, inflammation of the gums, breast tenderness, irregular menstruation, weight gain. Studies have shown that women on the Pill are susceptible to hypertension, increase risk of heart attacks, thromboembolism, strokes, urinary tract infections, epilepsy, asthma, arthritis, eczema, ulcers, urticaria and pleurisy. There is a significantly higher risk of breast cancer, diabetes, cervical cancer, infertility, growths, cysts and malignancies including ovarian cancer, liver cancer and skin cancer. A woman's body was not designed to work with chemicals that trick the body into a unnatural state of barrenness, therefore, it is only natural that a woman on birth control experience side effects, some possibly severe or even life threatening. The body was designed to function in cycles and release natural hormones at different times in the cycle. The female body is designed to live in its natural state.

Putting aside the medical aspect to the pill or other birth control methods, for me as a Christian, I found a bigger picture to study. Medicine and medical professionals are supposed to adhere to a standard of Life and health and the preservation of human productivity and fruitfulness. Wicked men have sought to pervert medicine into a tool used for death and destruction. When the pendulum swings from good to evil, destruction is always inevitable.

Christian marriages that have consented to the use of birth control are at an extreme disadvantage that could ultimately lead to the collapse of their union. This may seem to be a strong statement but the severity of the issue demands action. Light hearted compromise and apathetic response in a Christian marriage to the issues of contraception is destroying the family bond and ultimately spilling over into our society with negative impact. Contraception violates the integrity of the marriage vows and invades the sacredness of the marriage bed. There is no higher form of human commitment than the vow of marriage and there is no greater expression of human physical intimacy than that of sexual intimacy within marriage. Not merely physical, sexual intimacy in marriage contains a spiritual aspect as well. A spiritual aspect because it is God Himself who joins husband and wife as one. Consider the words of Jesus in Matthew 19:5-6, "He...made them male and female and said, For this reason a man shall...be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no man separate." Contraception reduces the sexual intimacy in marriage to a un-biblical act of the world, by directly separating and attacking the unity and fruitfulness that God designed the marriage sexual union to be. Husband and wife can not fully offer their entire being to one another with this barrier between them. Contraception selfishly and silently eats away at this holy commitment because it has taken God out of the sexual union and put man in control.

In all cases, concerning marriage, family, children and fertility, God affirms the fact that marriage is to be fruitful, children are a blessing, family is from God and fertility is a gift from Almighty. He is the one who opens and shuts the womb! Our modern society classifies children as a burden and not a blessing. Not only that, Christians see children and fertility as a hindrance and something to avoid. But what is interesting is that it is the only blessing that Christians do not want from God. Have you ever heard a Christian asking God to please stop blessing financially. "God, Please I have too much money....give it to someone else." But we do see Christians falling into the trap and lie of the enemy that children are to be avoided until they are ready to have children. Assuming that they can have children at a later date.

God has commanded His people "to be fruitful and multiply and subdue the earth." Genesis 1:28 says, "And God blessed them; and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply...'". Genesis 9:1 also commands, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth." In Colossians 1:10 the Word talks about bearing fruit in all good works and in Ephesians 5:11 it says, "And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness but instead even expose them;". The Word of God is clear. How can we as Christians have an impact on our world if we accept the lie of being unfruitful and hold to barrenness. Unfruitfulness and barrenness are not God's design for a Christians life, including Christian marriage. Diligently obeying the Lord, being careful to do all His commands is His desire. With that there is a promise of great blessing, including "Blessed shall be the offspring of your body.." But if you do not obey the Lord, observing not His commands, there is great cursing. "Cursed shall be the offspring of your body." ( Deuteronomy 28:1-68)

Another eye opener for me was the fact that up until 1930 ALL Christian churches, Catholic and Protestant, condemned artificial contraception. Furthermore, every Protestant theologian prior to 1930 condemned it as well. John Wesley said that contraception is "very displeasing to God, and the evidence of vile affections." John Calvin said contraception is "condemned" and "doubly monstrous". Most every leader of the Protestant faith condemned contraception in sermons, writing or speeches including, Joseph Hall, Cotton Mather, Daniel Defoe, Matthew Henery, John Brown, Richard Stock, Thomas Scott and many more. So what changed??? It is interesting to note that the change happened during the time of the sexual revolution and birth control movement led by Margaret Sanger, who later was the founder of Planned Parenthood, now the leading provider of abortions. She was a boisterous and staunch opponent of Christianity, she hated God and the Church, she was a vocal racist and held the views of men like Hitler and Stalin. She even associated with people in the Nazi party. Virtually all of her friends and lovers were Eugenic Socialists. She was in with the Socialist party and the Communist Labor movement. She was an adulteress and alcoholic. She was for total women's rights and mocked the sanctity of marriage and the marriage bed. She fought for total sexual freedom for everyone but most of all for women. Also, a supporter and leader for population control and getting rid of the "unfit of society"--of which she considered anyone not like her-- white, rich, God-hater, socialist--"unfit and scum", also the handicap or retarded were worms in our society. She believed "inferior races" were "human weeds" and a "menace to civilization". She stated "the most merciful thing a large family can do is to kill one of its infant members." She believed having a large family was immoral and the cause of the ills of society. Her fight for birth control was brutal. This is the women who changed our society to the point that we have millions of unborn babies killed through abortion, millions more aborted in chemical birth control abortions, the feminist movement, the sexual freedom movement that is killing thousands through STD's like AIDs. This is the woman who fought for the birth control that millions of women are taking today.

It has even drenched our churches where the same amount of divorces and abortions are going on inside the church as outside the church. Most Christian women are on some form of birth control. Her agenda is being lived out. And we, of all people, are the ones called by God who have to say "No More!". No longer are we going to be toyed and played with by the enemy. He has used us for far too long and it is time to take a stand for Righteousness Sake. We must die to our selfish desires and live in the Lordship of Christ. There is much at stake, but far greater the sacrifice for our children if we do not take a stand now and lead our families, our churches, our Nation back to God.

Bethany Vaughn

Information, statistics, quotes are taken from a wide range of informational sources including books, articles and pamphlets. The list includes. The Holy Bible; "Every Engaged Couple Should Be Taught...".By Rev.Eric J. Albertson; "What is the Historical Teaching of the Christian Chruch on Contraception?" by HLI.org.; "All The Way Hom"e by Mary Pride; "A Child is Born" by Lennart Nilsson; "Woman and the New Race" by Margaret Sanger (1920); "Grand Illusions", The Legacy of Planned Parenthood by George Grant; "Infant Homicides Through Contraceptives" Dr. Bogomir Kuhar; "So they say the pill is safe?" by Patrick McCrystal; Physicians Desk Reference( PDR 1997, p. 2564); Pill Function Information, days.org; "Abortion: Questions and Answers" by JC Willke; "Does the birth control pill cause abortions?" by Randy Alcorn

Posted: January 8, 2005 05:36 PM