The Science Article

I did some searching to find the full-text of the Science article cited in the previous post.  Here it is for people to read in full.  Having only skimmed it once tonight, I have yet to do a thorough analysis of methods; however, the following quote should give pause:

"These findings suggest that reduction in sexual partners and abstinence among unmarried sexually inexperienced youth (particularly in urban areas and in mails), rather than condom use, are the relevant factors in reducing HIV incidence." (page 2)

Here's the article.


On a side note...

When reading a scientific article it is important to have a clear understanding of how science actually works.  Presenting a single article and saying "There, that proves it!" does not work.  The scientific method requires that results be repeatable.  So, more literature should back up a claim.  But even that can fail, because science is fueled by research, and research by grants, and grants are money.  That may be a run-on sentence, but the point is: scientists have a bottom line, too.

So, when you read a science article think of science as trying to be less wrong than the other guy.  And think of it in the greater picture.  A single article must be in context, and unless the date is within the last few years, you should look at the entirety.  That's why research takes so long.

Catholic Contraception: A Connundrum

The Case:
 
The following was written in response to a posting on my Facebook by an old schoolmate regarding the Catholic view on contraception.   The topic was sparked by this person's affirmation of the freedom of religion as it pertains to the recently enacted HHS ruling on contraception.  As Facebook tends to degrade into a long comment boxes of semi-unreasonable arguments because space is limited, I figured this would be as good time as any to write a post about it.


The first post was as follows:

 Besides loyalty, what are your reasons for opposing the use of contraception?  It seems there is a lot of evidence that proper use of birth control can address a multitude of issues, from poverty in the USA to HIV in Africa.  I understand that the dogma says that we should be fruitful and multiply, but is there no situation in which multiplying is harmful to the child you're bringing forth, or harmful to the partner you're giving a virus to?  Doe "Thou shall not kill" apply to the death of millions of Africans with AIDS?

And further in reference to an article about condoms and infection risk as well as some other comments:

So the "fault" of the parents for making sex about pleasure results in a child with a terrible life, and in extreme cases, complete neglect.  You're saying "punish the child because of the parent's sins".  Nothing is good about a 13 year old urban girl getting pregnant.

There is so much evidence that condoms reduce HIV infection.  One guy saying otherwise doesn't make it so.  The overwhelming evidence (Health: A Key to Prosperity, US AID, Avert.com, UNFPA) as seen in Uganda, shows that correct condom use reduces infection rates.

Disease Prevention


The biggest concern seems to be disease prevention and whether or not AIDS can actually be prevented by condoms.   I encourage anyone to read the articles cited in above.  In particular, I encourage people to read the Science Magazine article linked by the article about condoms and infection risk.  Science magazine is one of the premier journals and articles published there should be seriously considered.


Further, I will provide the following link to an extensively sourced article regarding this question.   In summary, the article cites the case of Botswana, where condom usage was heavily promoted without abstinence education and HIV rates soared.  Additionally, other sub-Saharan communities have followed the same trends.  All, with the exception of, as the commenter had noted, Uganda.


Uganda was the site of a heavily promoted abstinence campaign prior to the introduction of the ABC campaign, which was "Abstinence and Condoms".  This is the singularity in Africa.  While it may be suggested that many Western institutions insist on condom promotion, it seems that the science does not support this push.  And this is not the first time ideology has trumped reason.


Population Control and Unwanted Pregnancy


One of the most common charges against the proponents of abstinence only is that this will inevitably increase the number of unplanned pregnancies and result in a huge upswing of poverty.  This charge was further articulated by the commented: "Nothing is good about a 13 year old urban girl getting pregnant."  There are two major problems with this.  The first is the science...or, if you're a purist like myself, the sociological data.  Second is the judgement.


So first, the sociological data.  Artificial contraception cannot be definitely linked to a decline in the number of unplanned pregnancies, and in the extreme, to the number of abortions.  Or, more exactly, wide spread use of artificial contraception has not been definitively causally related to a reduction in the number of abortions.  In fact, there are several studies which describe the reverse case.  One prominent study, showed that in Spain the number of abortions actually increased with more widespread use of contraception.  Now, it is worth noting that this does not provide evidence for causality.  This is only a correlation.  But then again, it is a correlation which should be discussed because it does not fit with the usual narrative.


On the second point: the judgement.  I disagree that there is nothing good about a 13 year old urban girl getting pregnant.  There is something good.  The child.  The situation sucks, but there is beauty.  There is life.  We as a society need to recognize that.  Would be rather the circumstances be different?  Yes.  But that is a new life.  That is wonderful.


Catholics and Contraception


And finally, to answer the original question, why do we as Catholics hold that contraception is wrong?  Well, because of the very evidence commandment cited: "Be fruitful and multiply."  Therefore, really, any form of contraception is morally problematic.  Including natural family planning (NFP).  "But," you say, "I though Catholics can use NFP!"


Well, here's the answer.  They can.  Because contraception is morally wrong, but family planning is not.


We as Catholics, and indeed as good humans, should be open to all life, no matter what the circumstances.  Life in poverty is still life.  And we as humans also have the duty to recognize, affirm, and rectify the dignity that is due life, even in poverty.  But we as humans were also given the gift of reason.  And reason will sometime tell us that having a child right now would not be responsible to that child.


Consider the following attitudes.  (1)  We as parents cannot afford another child right now: the mortgage is tight, we already have two children, and it would be a hardship to have a child.  We will do everything we can to keep from having a child.  (2)  We as parents don't think we can afford to support another child right now: the mortgage is tight, we already have two children, and it would be a hardship to have a child.  We are going to prudently avoid having another child, but if God wants us to, His Will be done.


The second attitude ought to be the Catholic attitude.  With the basic presumption of faith, these two attitudes are fundamentally different: one trusts in a reality which will ultimately care for the child.  The other distrusts a reality.  Now, to an atheist these positions are almost synonymous, because the reality of God is denied.  But that is another argument altogether.


In the end, this question is much larger than a single blog post.  So, in closing I will offer the this article for further clarification of the Catholic reasoning.  But also, let it be known that Catholics do not oppose contraception in order to be backwards, repress its members, or to scare people into submission.  The Catholic Church opposes contraception because of its high regard for the dignity of the human person and for the purpose of maintaining the integrity of the conjugal act.


Caritas in Veritate.  Id est totum.