Abortion and the contraceptive mentality

Abortion and the "contraceptive mentality"

"Your once loyal to the oath of a doctor, your once loyal doctors are now butchers! For money they kill the young! Abortion, My children, is murder, and as murderers you will receive a just judgment and punishment." - Our Lady of the Roses, February 10, 1978

The "oath" referenced by Our Lady is the Hippocratic Oath, made in honor of Hippocrates (called the "father of medicine") which was sworn to by almost all doctors from 400 B.C. until recently. This oath states, in part: "I will give no deadly medicine to anyone if asked, nor suggest any such counsel; furthermore, I will not give to a woman an instrument to produce abortion.... With purity and holiness I will pass my life and practice my art."

The history of medicine shows a stark contrast between the doctors of yesteryear and the modern doctors of today who "kill the young" for money. In September 1948, the World Medical Association adopted the Declaration of Geneva, which stated, "I will maintain the utmost respect for human life, from the time of conception; even under threat, I will not use my medical knowledge contrary to the laws of humanity." In October of 1949, the International Code of Medical Ethics stated, "A doctor must always bear in mind the importance of preserving human life from the time of conception until death." Dr. Paul Cibrie, Chairman of the committee, stated that abortionists were condemned in the Declaration of Geneva.

To see the medical establishment's reversal towards abortion, it is sufficient to look at the American Medical Association's policy statements regarding abortionists, in 1871 versus 1970:

1871 - "They [abortionists] should be made the outcasts of society. We will ... guard and protect the public against the machinations of these characters by pointing out the physical and moral ruin which follows in their wake."

1970 - "They should be permitted to perform abortions as long as they take place 'in an accredited hospital.'"

The medical profession was previously united in the knowledge and recognition that the unborn child was a living person. In fact, a 1859 American Medical Association committee investigating abortion stated that one reason for "the frightful extent of [abortion in the U.S.] is found in the grave defects of our laws, both common and statute, as regards the independent and actual existence of the child before birth, as a living being. These errors, which are sufficient in most instances to prevent conviction, are based, and only based, upon mistaken and exploded medical dogmas."

In 1840, Maine became the first state to pass a law protecting all babies. By 1910, every state except Kentucky had passed an anti-abortion law (and Kentucky's courts had declared abortion at any stage of gestation to be illegal). By 1967, abortion was a felony in 49 states (in New Jersey, it was a misdemeanor). In addition, 29 states banned abortion advertising, and many outlawed the manufacture or distribution of abortifacients.

In 1965, the Supreme Court case Griswold vs. Connecticut overturned a Connecticut state law banning the sale of contraceptives (outlawed by Connecticut law since 1879). This Connecticut law was the following: "Any person who uses any drug, medicinal article or instrument for the purpose of preventing conception shall be fined not less than fifty dollars or imprisoned not less than sixty days nor more than one year or be both fined and imprisoned" (1958 General Statutes of Connecticut). All states are granted police powers by the Constitution, to regulate health, safety, welfare and morals of its citizens. Connecticut argued that contraceptives were destructive to the family. Since the Pill began to be sold in 1960, divorces have tripled, out-of-wedlock births jumped from 224,000 to 1.2 million, abortions doubled, and cohabitation soared 10-fold from 430,000 to 4.2 million. Truly, the Connecticut statute was a wise law.

The Supreme Court made the false claim that there was a "right to privacy" guaranteed by the Constitution as a pretext to strike down the Connecticut statute. Justice Stewart dissented on this very point, stated, I "can find no . . . general right of privacy in the Bill of Rights, in any other part of the Constitution, or in any case ever before decided by this Court." The Supreme Court decision was to have enormous implications in the near future: "It may be observed that the United States Supreme Court decision, Griswold v. Connecticut, established the right to contraception on the basis of the right to privacy. Thus it offered the philosophical basis in Roe v. Wade in 1973," which was also based on the privacy issue.

In June of 1967, the American Medical Association voted to change their longstanding opposition to abortion, making a new resolution to condone abortion for the life or health of the mother, for a baby's "incapacitating" physical deformity or mental deficiency, or for cases of rape or incest. Also in 1967, Colorado, North Carolina, and California became the first states to adopt versions of the American Law Institute's "reform" abortion law.

In 1970 four states (New York, Alaska, Hawaii and Washington) passed bills that essentially allowed abortion on demand. When the New York abortion law went into effect, this message was given by Our Lady of the Roses:

“Pray for those who have not lived. He breathes the spirit of life at the moment of conception. Do not murder the little ones!" (July 1, 1970)

In 1973, the Supreme Court's infamous Roe v. Wade decision "legalized" the taking of innocent human life. Judge Rehnquist, dissenting from the majority opinion, wrote, "I have difficulty in concluding, as the Court does, that the right of 'privacy' is involved in this case." He went on to say, "The fact that a majority of the states reflecting, after all, the majority sentiment in those states, have had restrictions on abortions for a least a century is a strong indication, it seems to me, that the asserted right to an abortion is not 'so rooted in the traditions and conscience of our people as to be ranked as fundamental.'"

Our Lady warned on August 14, 1981: "Sin is condoned now, even unto the highest judge of your land and your lands throughout the world. As you have sown so shall you reap. Sin is death, not only of the spirit, but of the body. Wars are a punishment for man's sin, his greed, his avarice."

The "contraceptive mentality"

The culture of death chants the mantra, "every child a wanted child." This phrase implies that somehow we are lords over life, which is a lie. Every child is a gift from God and is to be accepted as such from the hands of our Creator, who alone is the Author of life. "At the heart of the 'contraceptive mentality' is the notion that the unwanted child is an evil," notes Dr. DeMarco. Instead of being viewed as a blessing from God, the child is considered as a good only insofar as he conforms to the convenience of the parents. Fr. James Schall writes, "this is probably the first generation in the history of mankind which is being told that the child itself is the evil, and a menace to the human race."

A consequence of the "contraceptive mentality" is to regard children as things, as property, rather than persons made in the image of God. In 1873, Elizabeth Cady Stanton blasted those mothers who treated their children as "property": "When we consider that women are treated as property, it is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we see fit." Parents infected with the "contraceptive mentality" will tend to objectify their children, giving them only such scraps of time that are leftover from their ego-centered and materialistic way of life.

The profound effects of parental neglect have been well-documented. One such study was done by the University of Michigan: "A 1998 University of Michigan study of 2,394 families across the nation found that few than half of parents said they found time for an adequate number of everyday activities with their children, such as looking at books, working on homework, talking, playing games, or preparing food.... When parents can't find the time to hug, encourage and develop relationships with their children... the damage can be enormous, affecting everything from brain development to future relations with spouses or children" (Detroit Free Press, March 20, 1999). Harvard Medical School psychologist Ronald Levant warns, "These kids [of busy, working parents] don't have the self-esteem that comes from knowing your parents are really interested in you, really behind you."

And how do kids feel about working mothers? According to the New York Times Magazine, "Eight-year-olds are deeply conservative.... And when it comes to their mothers, they are steadfastly retrograde, shunning the new, self-fulfilled model. Especially now, when 70 percent of mothers work, a stay-at-home mom has become the ultimate trophy, reflecting prosperity and proving to the children that they are, in fact, the center of the universe.... Indeed, a recent survey of six- to seventeen-year-olds by the Whirlpool Foundation revealed that out of 15 possible characteristics of the 'ideal' mother, having an important job was ranked 14th" (New York Times Magazine, November 15, 1998).

Putting career success ahead of children's well-being has catastrophic results. An article in the Charlotte Observer quotes Dr. Bryan Robinson, professor at the University of North Carolina: "workaholics often earn comfortable incomes; their families appear to have everything. But when the workaholic's kids reach adulthood their emotional framework often collapses like so many matchsticks. Adult children of workaholics often end up in therapy with failing marriages, depression or a sense of anger they can't identify." The same article goes on to say: "At the heart of their troubles, Robinson believes, was a well-meaning but absent parent who unconsciously taught them that you are judged by what you do, not what you are" (Charlotte Observer, January 16, 1997).

Contraception often leads to abortion

Just as contraception is used to prevent an unwanted child from being conceived, so too abortion is used to prevent an unwanted child from being born. As Joseph Boyle states, "the approval of contraception leads--though not in such a direct and logical way--to acceptance of abortion. Contraception is an attempt to prevent the handing on of life, and one who turns against life as it is passed on is likely to remain against it if the unwanted new life begins. The resolve to prevent a child from coming to be is often sufficiently strong that one will eliminate the child whose conception was not prevented."

The Holy Father has wisely observed, "the pro-abortion culture is especially strong precisely where the Church's teaching on contraception is rejected."

One estimate puts the number of American women using birth control at 36 million. Dr. Donald DeMarco remarks that it is ironic that as much as the feminist movement claims to seek greater freedom for women, "The feminist ideology of 'reproductive freedom' through medical intervention, actually welcomes medical exploitation." Alice Paul, author of the original Equal Rights Amendment in 1923 stated, "Abortion is the ultimate exploitation of women." In 1869, Susan B. Anthony wrote, "No matter what the motive, love of ease, or a desire to save from suffering the unborn innocent, the woman is awfully guilty who commits the deed. It will burden her conscience in life, it will burden her soul in death...."

Abortions throughout the world

According to an article at the University of California at Los Angeles website, there are "50 million abortions performed annually around the world" (UCLA website, updated June 15, 2001). Compare this figure to that given by Our Lady of the Roses in her June 18, 1986 message:

"I say this for this reason: the Eternal Father is much disturbed at the numbers of abortions being committed throughout your country and the world. These numbers go upwards to fifty to sixty million in one year throughout the world." - Our Lady, June 18, 1986

The Church's condemnation of abortion

The Church has condemned abortion from its very beginning. The Didache (also known as the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles), written prior to the year 90, reads: "You shall not kill the fetus by abortion, or destroy the infant already born." The Epistle of Barnabas, written before 138, states, "Do not kill a fetus by abortion, or commit infanticide." In 305, the Council of Elvira (Spain) pronounced excommunication in cases of abortion. Many more historical records prove the Church's ancient condemnation of abortion. Presently, the Church's Code of Canon Law maintains a punishment of excommunication: “A person who procures a successful abortion incurs an automatic (latae sententiae) excommunication" (Canon 1398).

Upon receiving the credentials of the Lindy Boggs (Ambassador to the Holy See) on December 16, 1997, Pope John Paul II offered these words: "The United States of America was founded on the conviction that an inalienable right to life was as self-evident moral truth, fidelity to which was a primary criterion of social justice. The moral history of your country is the story of your people's efforts to widen the circle of inclusion in society, so that all Americans might enjoy the protection of law, participate in the responsibilities of citizenship, and have the opportunity to make a contribution to the common good. Whenever a certain category of people--the unborn or the sick and old--are excluded from that protection, a deadly anarchy subverts the original understanding of justice. The credibility of the United States will depend more and more on its promotion of a genuine culture of life, and on a renewed commitment to building a world in which the weakest and most vulnerable are welcomed and protected."

The Church's condemnation of abortion will forever remain, as expressed many times by Pope John Paul II:

"Therefore, by the authority which Christ conferred upon Peter and his Successors, in communion with the bishops--who on various occasions have condemned abortion and who in the aforementioned consultation, albeit dispersed throughout the world, have shown unanimous agreement concerning this doctrine declare that direct abortion, that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means, always constitutes a grave moral disorder, since it is the deliberate killing of an innocent human being. This doctrine is based upon the natural law and upon the written Word of God, is transmitted by the Church's Tradition and taught by the ordinary and universal Magisterium" (Evangelium Vitae, #62).

"We warned you over and over again, through years of visitations upon earth--My Mother going to and fro to warn you, that those who have given themselves over to debasement, by the practice of homosexuality, birth control, abortion and all other aberrations that bring sorrow to My Mother's heart--this must be stopped now. There shall be no excuse accepted in Heaven by the saints, nor by My Mother and I, or the Eternal Father and the Holy Ghost, for what you are doing upon earth now." - Jesus, June 6, 1987

Directives from Heaven:

D23 - Abortion PDF
D28 - Hell PDF
D167 - The Family - Part 1 PDF
D168 - The Family - Part 2 PDF
D183 - Sex Education PDF

Articles...

Cardinal Ratzinger says public figures who dissent from Church teachings should not receive Holy Communion
http://www.tldm.org/news6/Ratzinger.htm

Vatican warns pro-abortion politicians not to receive Holy Communion
http://www.tldm.org/news6/vaticanwarnsjohnkerrynocommunion.htm

Bishop Sheridan will deny Communion to Catholics who vote pro-abortion
http://www.tldm.org/news6/Sheridan.htm

Bishop Wenski calls pro-abortion Catholics who demand to receive Communion "boorish and sacrilegious"
http://www.tldm.org/News6/Wenski.htm

Vatican document repeats Church teaching: Catholics must be free of grave sin to receive Holy Communion
http://www.tldm.org/news6/receptionofcommunion.htm

Sacrilegious Communion and the U.S. bishops
http://www.tldm.org/News6/sacrilege.htm

Catholics who vote pro-abortion commit a mortal sin
http://www.tldm.org/News6/VotingPro-ChoiceJohnKerry.htm

Congressman Hyde is on the U.S. bishops' case
http://www.tldm.org/news6/Hyde.htm

Separation of Chuch and State: "a fatal error"
http://www.tldm.org/News6/separation.htm

Our Lady of the Roses warns: Senator Ted Kennedy faces damnation unless he defends his Catholic Faith
http://www.tldm.org/News6/Kennedy.htm

Outside Links…

Abortion:

Sin to vote for pro-abortion politicians? Fr. Matthew Habiger
http://www.ewtn.com/library/ISSUES/SINTOVOT.HTM

2002 Canonical Petition to Excommunicate Culture of Death "Catholics"
http://www.cathfam.org/cfexcom/Excom.html

“Whoever is not with Me, is against Me,” Archbishop William Levada
http://www.ewtn.com/library/BISHOPS/LEVADA.HTM

Declaration on procured abortion (CDF, November 18, 1974)
http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDFABORT.HTM

The Gospel of Life, Pope John Paul II, March 25, 1995
http://www.ewtn.com/library/ENCYC/JP2EVANG.HTM

Contraception:

Faithfulness to the Divine Plan in the Transmission of Life Pope John Paul II's General Audience (8 August 1984)

Humanae Vitae Pope Paul VI - Encyclical - On the Regulation of Births (25 July 1968)

Contraception Versus Abortion: A Comparison and Some Implications, By Msgr. Vincent Foy, PhD.

Contraception and Catholic Teaching, Donald DeMarco, Ph.D.

God and the Pill, Terence J. Hughes

Abortifacients, Charles M. Mangan

Contraception: Fatal to the Faith and to Eternal Life, John A. Hardon, S.J.

Is Contr aception Gravely Sinful Matter? by Fr Lino Ciccone CM (from L'Osservatore Romano, 4 December 1996)

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