Let's be Clear. . . This is taken from www.womhealth.org: The two hormones in the combined oral contraceptive pill, oestrogen and progestogen work on several levels to prevent pregnancy. Primarily, the Pill works by stopping ovulation (the release of an egg from the ovary). If an egg is not released then of course conception cannot take place. As a back-up, the Pill also makes the mucus released by the cervix thicker so the sperm cannot get through and thins the lining of the uterus so a fertilised egg has difficulty implanting. Causing a miscarriage of a fertilized egg can/will happen on the pill but it's not as if that's THE way that it works. It is one of the ways. With that said, yes, if you are pro-life and believe that life begins at conception the pill is an abortificant. Re: a 'quiver full' mindset What I didn't see explained on their website I assume bc it is too Biblical and religiony, but I'm fairly sure they believe given that I've heard them mention 'quiver full' but never explain it, is that many feel that birth control in and of itself is unbiblical. It's not just 'don't use the pill'. . .it's don't use anything. Here is some reasoning: First, there is no Biblical precedent for birth control. Women were ashamed when they could not conceive and it was always God and not people who decided when children were conceived and born. Secondly, barrier methods like condoms would also be unacceptable because it is 'spilling the seed'. Forgive me--I'm nursing and don't want to find the story but who slept with who and God was displeased bc the seed was spilled? If no one knows what I'm talking about I'll go hunt it down later. Thirdly, the idea that Scripture clearly says that children are a blessing from the Lord. So that's the stance on birth control. Probably explained more thoroughly than you wanted huh?!
My sister was on the pill for a while and the doctors never told her that your muscles can collapse. This wasn't in the pamphlet that came with her pills either. So one day her husband is driving them to dinner and noticed her face starting to twist. He pulled over and called 911 because he thought she was having a stroke. By the time the paramedics arrived her fingers and body were rolled up in balls, like a fetal position. It ends up her muscles collapsed for a while. After some injections, it went back to normal but she was in pain for a couple of weeks. The emergency room doctor is the one that told her what caused it and that it is rare, but it does happen. So she never took them again and has three beauties to show for it. Patty
The "spilled seed" story is the story of Onan and Tamar. It actually has little, if anything, to do with birth control though many fundamentalists use it to condemn it. In a nutshell: Tamar married Er, Jacobs first son. Er was an evil man and before Tamar could conceive with him, God struck him dead. By law, this meant Tamar passed to Jacob's second son, Onan. However, also by law, that meant that any children Tamar bore from Onan would legally be considered Er's children. Onan, being as wicked as his brother, spilled his seed on the ground in order to deprive his brother's lineage from continuing. Therefore, God struck him dead as well. It wasn't that he spilled his seed, it was why he spilled his seed. If you want the rest of the story, eventually Tamar pretends to be a prostitute because Jacob won't give her to his next son (she waited many years). She seduced Jacob on the side of the road and tricked him into giving her his ring. When it became obvious she was pregnant, she was able to prove the child was Jacob's by showing his ring. This was the line that King David and ultimately Jesus came from.
I have only heard of abortificant birth control as condemned but not birth control in general. I know many Christian men who get vascetomies. I guess that would be condemned also in some circles, huh? Interesting topic. I must say I never thought about birth control as being ungodly. Maybe that is ok maybe not. I know that that ones that can cause you to miscarry go against my stance on abortion though. I really just figured when my dh wondered how God viewd vasectomies (did I spell that wrong?lol) it was only his cold feet showing. LOL. I kinda think it is. lol. I know a few women who never used bc or had tubes tied or anything and stopped having kids. So, I do wonder how this all works. I guess I did wonder about God's plan and stuff when it comes to having kids. Can we ever really plan it or does God? If we decide not to have another but God wanted us to...are we interferring with the will of God. OK... my head hurts now...I am just supposing...I really have no stance on this. lol. I am just wondering out loud. Personally, I am done at three....I can only hope God agrees. lol.
I have met a good number of Christians (including the entire RCC) that feel that any birth control at all is wrong from a Biblical standpoint. I obviously don't agree. I don't use anything hormonal, but we've managed to not get pregnant. DH is going to get snipped soon, whether he likes it or not...lol. But only because it's outpatient for him and major abdominal surgery for me. And Lord knows he wouldn't survive if I was laid up after surgery.
Thank you--for the life of me I couldn't remember where it was. I was for the record, simply explaining where those who are against all forms of birth control were coming from. . .not necessarily that it was my own view. And yes, to the pp who asked. . .vasectomies would also be 'condemned' (LOL if you want to word it that way). Any interference with having children or not having them would be considered wrong. (This is the traditional stance of the Catholic church.)
My brother and a friend of mine are getting married in May. Her mother took her out and put her on the pill. She said she wanted her monthly to regulate before they were married. MY mom was not real happy about it though. I need to show her this thread. And that story is horrible! My dh has never allowed me to be on the pill. He would always complain about the side effects that could happen. But we never knew about the other.
Sneaky, I hope you didn't think I meant you believed this way. I sort of figured from the tone of you post that you didn't.
Oh. . .I wasn't sure. But gosh have I not gotten into lots of trouble on forums today for being one of those conservative folks. UGH So I figured I better be super duper clear! We are actually against birth control (for ourselves) and technically 'quiver full' folks. LOL Except we're too liberal for them because we would make the exception for birth control when there is a medically relevant need that prohibits having kids and we do not see an issue with having tubes tied from a Biblical standpoint. But I think the big thing for us is that we personally felt convicted that we should go this route. So it's not so much that we would tell everyone that being on birth control is wrong and unbibilical. But rather we really felt like the Lord was calling us to trust him more completely in our lives and that this was something He wanted to plan for us. We've been immeasurably blessed but I think each person/couple has to do what they feel led to do. But it's something I've studied lots in the Bible as well as the historical church perspective. Thankfully, I haven't seen anyone throw tomatoes here yet so I think I'm safe! (Breathes sigh of relief.)
No right or wrong, its a personal choice per birth control or not. Honestly Dh and I go back and forth about it all the time not knowing what is best for us. Although with our gang I think people assume we are quiver full and thats ok by me!
"Blessed are those whose quiver is full. . ." (reference anyone?) The idea being that those who have lots of kids are blessed. Their quiver is full of arrows. (A quiver being the thing that holds the archer's arrows.) Quiver full as a 'movement' (can I call it a movement?) refers to people who are against birth control in general and feel like the Lord should plan their family.
My mom had her tubes tied with the blessings of her priest. So have a few other Catholics that I am good friends with. Some of the men have also had vasectomies. This isn't a rule written in stone. Handsome had a vasectomy right after Ems was born which was a blessing for me. I didn't want to go through the pain that I seen my sister go through. She had hers done right after she gave birth to her last child. It is definitely easier for a man to have a vasectomy then for a women to have her tubes tied. Patty
Emmas#1fan Are any of these rules written in stone? Since none of these methods of birth control existed in Biblical times, we have to simply derive meaning from what we believe Scripture is saying about children. I don't think I ever implied they were in stone or that having one was wrong. . .just trying to provide a view point as someone asked what the Duggar's views on birth control were. My dh has also had a vasectomy because my uterus was completely destroyed after the twins. Long story short I nearly died giving birth and cannot have children anymore without grave risk to my health. For the record, this would not be acceptable to strict quiver full people. Again, I'm not saying what should or should be, but I thought someone had asked that this mentality be explained a little so I'm doing just that. That's all. Vasectomize away!
