Contraceptives and the environment.
May 17, 2012 6:29 pm
The evidence is building that the chemicals present in contraceptives are harmful to the environment and to animals — such as human beings — who live in the “environment”, i.e., drink from the water supply:
In the case of oral contraceptives, the key ingredients are synthetic hormones known as progestins, which mimic progesterone, either alone or combined with estrogen. When used therapeutically in contraceptive pills or in hormone replacement treatments for menopause, these synthetic hormones make their way into the water supply after being excreted in the patients’ urine. As environmental contaminants, these are referred to as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), due to the fact that they interfere with the endocrine systems of humans and animals alike following exposure.
Wisdom about using NFP
April 29, 2012 1:20 pm
As usual Simcha gets it right and makes you laugh at the same time.
You’d think a couple using NFP are all about saying no, to each other and to God. That’s how the then-me imagined the now-me, fifteen years ago, when I thought about learning to use NFP.
But in fact, the opposite has happened: as we learn self-control, we are both a thousandfold more at peace with the idea of giving up control to God — accepting the unexpected, adapting, being grateful. This is what self-control has taught us. That was unexpected! You never know.
An Honest Assessment of NFP
April 18, 2012 8:15 am
Emily Stimpson is unmarried but she understands human nature. And so do many of her commentators. This is a fine blog on the challenges, and joys, of NFP.
Regardless, temperance, prudence, and chastity aren’t virtues most people possess in spades anymore. Our culture, where instant gratification and over-indulgence are the norm, has seen to that.
At the same time, rejecting contraception in general requires trust—trust in God’s will and God’s provision. It requires generosity—a willingness to put others needs before our own. It requires a spirit of poverty—detachment from the extras our culture says are essentials. And it requires a heart that delights in pictures of fat smiling babies, that believes babies are precious gifts from God, not a reason to run for the hills.
Basically, it requires that we be everything our culture has programmed us not to be. That’s why NFP is a challenge for the most faithful couples I know, let alone those decidedly less faithful. Few are able to use it to space births with the same precision the manuals promise. Not because the methods don’t work. But rather because wills are weak and temptation is tempting. If a tiny tasty brownie can almost fell us, what can love and desire do?
Worth Thinking About
May 1, 2012 5:47 am
This woman thinks women have unrealistic views about men, themselves, and marriage. She seems to have stumbled upon some age old wisdom about marriage:
There’s also a very practical component to marriage, but people find talking about that to be antithetical to our notion of what “real” love is. They like to think about marriage as some kind of divine union without considering that it’s more like a contented partnership formed to run a very small, mundane nonprofit business. And while that may not sound super exciting, that aspect of it can actually be really, really nice. You have to be compatible with your partner on a practical level as well. Arranged marriages account for that. Many women in choice marriages go the altar not having fully considered the practical aspects.
Yaz kills
April 16, 2012 5:44 pm
Why would any administration want to pay for a drug that kills not only babies conceived while a woman is taking it, but also the woman herself?
Bayer’s Yasmin was the No. 4 oral contraceptive in the U.S. in 2011, with 4.6 percent of the market as of September, according to data from IMS Health.
Wave of Litigation
Since 2009, the German drugmaker has faced a wave of lawsuits in courts across the U.S. alleging the birth-control pills caused sometimes fatal blood clots. Lawyers suing the drugmaker cited FDA reports of at least 50 deaths tied to the pills from 2004 to 2008.