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Jo McGowan has a great column in Commonweal titled: Simplifying Sex: What Some Priests Don’t Understand About Contraception.
Some of the highlights:
Avoiding or embracing pregnancy is the stuff of real life -- the vivid centerpiece of youth and middle age. As a woman, a mother, and a Catholic, I’m part of it. I remember the drama, the excitement, the fear. Pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding are intense experiences.
"The drama, the excitement, the fear." Only if you have lived this do you understand the intensity behind these six words.
Well, no, Fr. Landry, we don’t. We don't reject it. We make a decision about it.
What I find most irksome among supporters of the church's teaching against birth control is that they assume the non-supporters haven't thought about this issue, studied it and even prayed over it. And then made a decision. Which brings us to the next quote from McGowan:
To defend contraception within marriage is not to defend sexual license. Married couples who have pledged a lifetime of commitment to each other and their families have the right and the duty to make their own decisions about contraception. The church’s role is to help them arrive at the decision that is right for their lives. It is not to dictate one-size-fits-all rules that have no foundation in practical experience.
