Is using birth control a mortal or venial sin?

[dangerousdyls]

I'm curious now that this survey shows that 98% of women have used birth control.

[juno24]

It would depend on the intentions of the person using it and his or her knowledge of the gravity of the sin. For something to be mortal sin it must be grave matter, the person must willingly participate in the activity, and must have full knowledge that he or she is committing a sin. If there are mitigating circumstances (being forced to use contraception, or not knowing that it is a serious, or grave, matter, for instance) the sin may only be a venial sin for that particular person.

[stephe1987]

Originally Posted by dangerousdyls

I'm curious now that this survey shows that 98% of women have used birth control.

I would be interested to hear the source of this.

Not every woman uses birth control. I'm sure there are plenty of women who haven't used any.

And other studies show that some women remain virgins (willingly as a devotion to God, or unwillingly as in they can't find a husban)... these people alone amount to more than 2% of all women. It's somewhere around 5% to 8%. Now, why would those women be using birth control? For acne? Well, I guess that technically counts, but it's not really FOR birth control, now is it?

So, "98% of women have used birth control" begs the question of 98% of WHAT women? Sexually active college students?

[Rascalking]

This topic is being discussed over here.

http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=552857

[Theophorus]

Originally Posted by dangerousdyls

I'm curious now that this survey shows that 98% of women have used birth control.

really? that's nearly double the the amount of women who are fertile, what in the hell are they using it for? you're right to be curious I am too.

BTW, on an easier note, using artificial birth control to deliberately prevent life is a mortal sin.

Hope that helps, and I would like to see this wacky survey of yours, care to post a link?

[Dale_M]

Originally Posted by stephe1987

So, "98% of women have used birth control" begs the question of 98% of WHAT women? Sexually active college students?

The numbers refer to women age 15-44. Of those who have had sex, 99% have used birth control other than natural family planning.

The analysis breaks down the numbers by religion and frequency of religious attendance. However, among woman who identify as Catholic, the percentage who use such methods are not significantly different compared to the general population.

Only 2% of Catholic women rely on natural family planning; even among Catholic women who attend church once a month or more, only 2% rely on this method (not shown). Sixty-eight percent of Catholic women use highly effective methods: sterilization (32%, including 24% using female sterilization,) the pill or another hormonal method (31%) and the IUD (5%).

http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/Relig...eptive-Use.pdf

The strength of this paper is that is based upon data collected by the National Survey of Family Growth, which is conducted by the US Centers for Disease Control.

The weakness of the paper is that the analysis was conducted by a partisan organization (the Guttmacher Institute) and and thus could be suspected of reporting only results favorable to its point of view. The paper only reports results as percentages, and we are asked to accept the claim that the results are statistically significant.. The paper, I think, would be stronger if it told us the actual number of women on which those percentages are based. If there are only a relative handful of respondents in a certain category, it could skew results.

It also is worth noting that the 99% or 98% figure refers to women who are currently sexually active. The paper notes that sexual activity among unmarried women decreases with religiosity.

[dangerousdyls]

Originally Posted by stephe1987

I would be interested to hear the source of this.

It's been all over the news:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...73C7W020110413

I should have been more specific with my comment. It says that 98% of sexually active female Catholics have used birth control, and 70% still do. I was a bit floored when I heard how high these percentages.

BUT, my main question was about the sin itself and how grave it is, not about the survey. If one knows they are committing a sin by using birth control and uses it completely under their own will, is this is a mortal sin or venial sin?

Thank you, Theophorus, for answering me and saying it's a mortal sin. Any links backing this would be helpful.

[Theophorus]

Cheers for the link it hasn't been widely shown on my side of the pond.

From the catecism:
CCC paragraph 1857: For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: "Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent."

And CCC paragraph 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.158 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.

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.160

And the related*CCC paragraph 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).

Pope Paul VIs encyclical Humane Vitae obviously spells this out as well butI won't quote from it here. The church has always upheld the fact that we must be open to life, a council back in AD 430ish condemed abortion and abortificants so this position is nothing new.

[Christian4life]

I have a big problem with studies like that because it is asking a misleading question. I've only been a Catholic for a little over 3 years now. I've been married for 7.5. So if you ask me if I'm a Catholic I would say yes. And if you asked me have I used artificial birth control I would say yes. But if you ask me have I ever used it WHILE I was a Catholic, the answer is NO! So not exactly fair if you're trying to prove that Catholics use it. Among protestants it was not only not considered a sin, it was considered the only responsible thing to do.

[jnpl1185]

See, this is the thing I do not understand about birth control being a mortal sin. The catechism defines a grave matter as follows:

1858 "Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man."

How does birth control have anything to do with the Decalogue? This is what is at the heart of the original question at the beginning of this thread: a sin would seem to have to meet the above criteria to be called a mortal sin, unless the catechism explanation is incomplete. I would appreciate anyone who could give some solid ecclesiastical documents/evidence explaining this. Thanks!

Best Wishes.

[puzzleannie]

Originally Posted by dangerousdyls

I'm curious now that this survey shows that 98% of women have used birth control.

regardless of what survey says it is always objectively a mortal sin to use artificial means to prevent conception--drugs, chemicals, hormones, IUDs in their various forms, surgery intended explicitly to bring about sterility, not to treat a medical condition, mechanical barrier methods such as spermacides, condoms etc. and any other infamous technique a mis-used medical science can come up with. Whether or not it is mortally sinful for a particular individual depends on the usual conditions, full knowledge, full free will consent, and intention. I know it is gravely wrong, I am not being compelled in any way and yet I still intend to carry out this sinful act.

It is grave matter coming directly under the decalogue
the first 3 commandments by which we acknowledge and adore God as creator including all he intends in the creation of man and woman,
Honor thy father and mother and the 6th & 9th commandments on adultery and wrong intention about sexuality, which bring under the covenant all family relationships, making particularly sacred not only marriage but that of parent and child.

[jnpl1185]

Puzzleannie, I think that's quite a stretch for an interpretation and, in the end, it is an interpretation, not the ecclesiatical and textual evidence we are asking for. And besides, if your interpretation were the case, then every sin would be a mortal sin because it would fall under the catch-all of not adoring God as we should. This is logically... well... problematic to put it softly. Moreover, adultery and coveting your neighbors wife have nothing to do with contraception--it is not enough that they all fall under the general heading of sexuality. We need to know about this particular teaching in and of itself.

So again, can anyone direct us to church documents which confirm, clearly and without equivocation, that birth control is a mortal sin? We are not trying to play the devil's advocate, we sincerely want to know what exactly what the church has to say about it being a mortal sin.

[WesternBlot]

Originally Posted by jnpl1185

Puzzleannie, I think that's quite a stretch for an interpretation and, in the end, it is an interpretation, not the ecclesiatical and textual evidence we are asking for. And besides, if your interpretation were the case, then every sin would be a mortal sin because it would fall under the catch-all of not adoring God as we should. This is logically... well... problematic to put it softly. Moreover, adultery and coveting your neighbors wife have nothing to do with contraception--it is not enough that they all fall under the general heading of sexuality. We need to know about this particular teaching in and of itself.

So again, can anyone direct us to church documents which confirm, clearly and without equivocation, that birth control is a mortal sin? We are not trying to play the devil's advocate, we sincerely want to know what exactly what the church has to say about it being a mortal sin.

It says in 2370 that any act that would render procreation impossible is intrinsically evil. If done in a way that fulfills the 3 necessary prerequisites for mortal sin, what else are you looking for exactly?

[jnpl1185]

Well, it seems that anything that goes against the will of God would be considered evil, regardless of whether it is venial or mortal. If one is willing to concede this point, then it is not enough to say that it is intrinsically evil--there needs to be a further explanation as to how it is mortal and not venial.

Again, I think most people who have asked this question are looking for a clear, direct statement from the Church explaining how contraception is a grave matter which breaks the ten commandments. If it is admitted that it does not break the ten commandments, then we need to know the further criteria for establishing mortal sin which is not written in the catechism.

So, in sum, I am looking for quotes, statements, and hard evidence from a pope (and failing that, a bishop) linking the terms "contraception" or "artificial birth control" and "mortal sin." Turning out to be more difficult than it sounds, seemingly.

[jnpl1185]

In other words, it would seem not to fulfill the prerequisite of being a grave matter if a grave matter is determined by the ten commandments unless this definition of a grave matter in the catechism is incomplete. If it turns out that the definition in the catechism for a grave matter is incomplete, great! I'd like to see the evidence and an explanation from the Church as to how it is incomplete or why contraception is an exception to the rule.