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Summary: The Pill Kills ’08
Summary: The Pill Kills ’09
Summary: The Pill Kills ’10

For Protest the Pill Day ‘11: The Pill Kills Marriages

Download and print your copy now The following are some questions about birth control. Feel free to use these answers if you are approached while protesting the pill.

If you would like even more information, you can read The Pill Kills Babies Talking Points, The Pill Kills Women Talking Points, and The Pill Kills the Environment Talking Points.

Click the image to the right to print a flyer of this year’s talking points.

Q: How does the pill "kill" marriages?
A: Nature dictates that marriage is geared toward the procreation and nurturing of children and the mutual good of the spouses.

The pill is intended to alter the healthy reproductive system’s natural operation and make it dysfunctional, either by blocking fertilization or alternatively, causing an already created child to be aborted before he/she implants in the uterus.

At the same time, the chemical actions of the pill on a woman’s body can cause profound changes in her psychological and physical well-being, all of which can have an extremely negative impact on the relationship between the spouses.

Additionally, since the pill sets up a barrier between the couple and God in co-creating new life, the use of the pill has a profoundly negative spiritual impact on the marriage.

Q: I understand that the pill blocks conception, but how does it cause abortions?
A: One of the actions of oral contraceptives is to alter the lining of the womb, which would normally be lush and ready to accept and nourish a newly created child. In the case of the woman on the pill, the lining becomes instead a barren wasteland and the newly created child does not implant, causing his or her death.5,6

Q: What kind of changes does the pill cause in a woman’s body that would harm her marriage?
A:

  1. A recent study shows that the hormones contained in the pill may cause a woman to choose a mate with whom she is incompatible. A study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B in August of 2008, suggests that women on the pill undergo a shift in preference toward men who share similar MHC genes, while women who are not under the influence of hormonal birth control choose men with dissimilar genes, thus setting them up for relationship catastrophes when they stop taking the pill. Immune genes may have a "powerful effect in terms of how well relationships are cemented," says University of Liverpool psychologist Craig Roberts, who co-authored a research paper that arrived at the same conclusion.1,3
  2. Similarly, women who begin taking the pill after they are married may find that they become disinterested in the spouse they have chosen, preferring a man, instead, with similar MGC genes.1,3
  3. Loss of libido. One of the very common reasons women become disinterested in their husbands and vice versa is that the pill can cause a loss of libido. One of the mechanisms responsible for loss of libido in women on the pill is a rise in the sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). It combines with the woman’s naturally occurring testosterone, reducing her interest in sex.4,5,6
  4. A litany of diverse physiological and psychological side effects are listed by manufacturers of the pill, which can range from problematic to devastating for a marital relationship. Among the psychological consequences are depression and nervousness. The pill can cause a disease known as porphyria, which can manifest among other things acute mania, including hallucinations. Physical side effects of the pill include migraine, headache, dizziness, loss of scalp hair, weight gain, bone loss, and nausea. Lethal side effects include deep vein thrombosis and cancer.4,5,6

Q: How does the pill cause spiritual trouble in a marriage?
A: When God is at the center of a marriage, the marriage itself is ordered toward God's will. However, by introducing the pill, the couple is saying to God, "Get out of our relationship right now. We choose to not be open to co-creating new life with you." Rather than blessings, children become something to be avoided at all cost, and abortion becomes the backup plan. Once God is booted from such an integral aspect of the marriage covenant, spiritual chaos is inevitable.7

Q: Where is the proof that the pill kills marriages?
A:

  1. The percentage of divorced people in the US increased 345 percent between 1960 when the pill was approved for use by the FDA and 1992.2
  2. The number of unmarried women of childbearing age who are cohabiting skyrocketed from 439,0008 in 1960 to an astounding 5.5 million9 in 2000, an incredible 1,150 percent increase in 40 years. In 2008 there were 6.799 million cohabiting8, unmarried adult couples of the opposite sex in the U.S.
  3. Births to unmarried women have increased more than 600 percent10, from 224,000 in 1960 to 1.75 million in 2007, resulting in hordes of children who do not enjoy the security and advantages of a loving home which includes both father and mother. Rutgers sociology professor and marriage researcher David Popenoe said in 2005, "The United States has the weakest families in the Western world because we have the highest divorce rate and the highest rate of solo parenting."11

Q: How can a married couple that cannot have more children due to serious reasons respect their fertility?
A: By refraining from sexual intercourse during a woman’s fertile period, the spouses take recourse to the natural cycle of the wife’s fertility. Women have a small window of fertility each month, and by remaining open to the possibility of new life whenever the couple has intercourse, they continue to respect her fertility and respect God in that they are not putting up any barriers to God and conception of new life. The principles learned in Natural Family Planning are also very useful in conceiving children where a couple has previously been unable to conceive.

Proof that Natural Family Planning is good for marriages lies partially in the fact that surveys have shown that NFP-practicing couples have divorce rates as low as .2 percent.12

References

1 Wenner, Melinda, "Birth Control Pills Affect Women’s Taste in Men." Scientific American, Dec. 5, 2008. Accessed March 21, 2011.

2 University of Virginia, the National Marriage Project, "The State of Our Unions, Marriage in America 2010, When Marriage Disappears: The New Middle America," p 70. Accessed March 24, 2011.

3 American Life League (2008). Pill Goggles [Video] Retrieved March 21, 2011.

4 Kuhar, Bogomir M., PharmD, FASCP, Infant Homicides through Contraceptives, 5th ed. (Bardstown, KY: Eternal Life, 2003).

5 Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., patient package insert: "Ortho Tri-Cyclen/Ortho-Cyclen Tablets (norgestimate/ethinyl estradiol)," (Manati, Puerto Rico: Janssen Ortho, LLC, June 2010). Accessed March 21, 2011.

6 Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., patient package insert: "Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo Tablets," (Raritan, New Jersey: Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., August 2008). (accessed March 21, 2011).

7 Pope Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Humanae Vitae, Vatican: The Holy See, July 25, 1968, Accessed March 21, 2011.

8 Rogers State University, "Cohabitation." Accessed March 24, 2011.

9 CDC, "Marriage and Cohabitation in the United States: A Statistical Portrait Based on Cycle 6 (2002) of the National Survey of Family Growth," February 2010. Accessed March 24, 2011.

10 Ventura, Stephanie J., MA , Department of Vital Statistics, CDC, "Changing Patterns of Non-Marital Child Bearing in the United States," May 2009. Accessed March 24, 2011.

11 Jayson, Sharon, "Divorce declining, but so is marriage," USA Today, July 18, 2005. Accessed March 24, 2011.

12 Wilson, Mercedes Azrú, "Divorce Rate Comparisons Between Couples Using Natural Family Planning and Artificial Birth Control," March 2001. Accessed March 24, 2011.