One of the reasons Humanae Vitae was resisted in 1968 is that women’s reproductive cycles were far less understood than today. The only natural method available then, the much derided rhythm method of spacing children, was a one-size-fits-all template that didn’t take into account the differences between one woman and another or one woman from month to month.
This is why Pope Paul VI, in writing Humanae Vitae, made an appeal to scientists:
Our next appeal is to men of science. These can “considerably advance the welfare of marriage and the family and also peace of conscience, if by pooling their efforts they strive to elucidate more thoroughly the conditions favorable to a proper regulation of births.” (28) It is supremely desirable, and this was also the mind of Pius XII, that medical science should by the study of natural rhythms succeed in determining a sufficiently secure basis for the chaste limitation of offspring. (29) In this way scientists, especially those who are Catholics, will by their research establish the truth of the Church’s claim that “there can be no contradiction between two divine laws-that which governs the transmitting of life and that which governs the fostering of married love.” (30)
Dr. Thomas Hilgers was one doctor who heard the pope’s request:
Dr. Thomas W. Hilgers responded to this call. He began research in December 1968 as a medical student. After residency, he established research centers at St. Louis University and Creighton University Schools of Medicine. To carry on this research, he and his wife Sue founded the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction, a decision they made on the day of Pope Paul VI’s death, August 6, 1978. The Institute opened on September 1, 1985. At the Pope Paul VI Institute, a segment of America’s medical community has answered the challenge of Humanae Vitae.
As time went on, the mystery of women’s fertility began to be understood. Success built upon success. Rhythm – way too static — was tossed out and natural family planning became the buzzword. And it still is. Consider this young woman’s contemporary explanation of natural family planning
Q: I am looking into natural methods of birth control. What are the exact days when you cannot get pregnant? Is it right after your period? or right before? can someone give me an exact calendar or source that i can refer to. Thank you in advance
A: Ah, the answers community is always so darn helpful when it comes to answering questions about natural family planning. Pretty soon we’ll have the “experts” who got pregnant while using NFP and we should all believe that just because one person got pregnant using NFP, the method is completely unreliable. Despite that I have a nephew thanks to condom failure and numerous friends have had babies after failure of the pill.
Sorry, I get so frustrated with the ignorant answers that come out when this question gets asked. I bet most of these people have absolutely no idea of the science behind the method or the fact that it is, in fact, 99% effective as established by the World Health Organization and a number of recent studies.
NFP is a great option for married couples who don’t like the side effects from chemical birth control and don’t like the interference of barrier methods. Let me tell you a little bit about the science behind how it works and why it works…..
If you’d like to know more about natural family planning, you might want to pop in Saturday, July 26 to the Legacy of Humanae Vitae: 40 years conference, St. Louis University, Doisy College of Health Sciences Building.
Oh, and if you think Catholicism is the only religion to have cluck-clucked about artificial birth control, take a peek at today’s quiz from the Irish Independent newspaper.