The same goal, a different act
Church teachingThe most common objection to Catholic teaching is simple. If a couple using NFP and a couple using the pill both intend to avoid a baby, what is the difference? The Church answers that the intention to space births can be good in both cases, and the Catechism says so plainly: for just reasons spouses may wish to space their children. The question is the means.
The Catechism teaches that every action which, before, during or after intercourse, is intended to render procreation impossible is intrinsically evil. Periodic continence, by contrast, conforms to the objective criteria of morality. Saint Paul VI put it this way in Humanae Vitae: couples using NFP make legitimate use of a natural faculty, while couples using contraception obstruct the natural development of the generative process. The first is a choice about when. The second is a choice about what the act will be.
Periodic continence, that is, the methods of birth regulation based on self-observation and the use of infertile periods, is in conformity with the objective criteria of morality. These methods respect the bodies of the spouses, encourage tenderness between them, and favor the education of an authentic freedom.
The language of the body
Church teachingSaint John Paul II explained the difference through the idea that the body speaks. In the marriage act husband and wife say with their bodies that they give themselves completely. Contraception, he wrote in Familiaris Consortio, overlays that native language with an objectively contradictory one, the language of not giving oneself totally. NFP keeps the words true: when the couple come together, nothing is held back, and when they have a reason not to conceive, they speak a different word of love by waiting.
The US bishops ask couples the same question in plain terms: does intercourse made infertile by contraception faithfully affirm committed love, or does it introduce a false note into it. This is the heart of Theology of the Body, and it explains why the Church cares about the form of the act and not only its outcome.
Thus the innate language that expresses the total reciprocal self-giving of husband and wife is overlaid, through contraception, by an objectively contradictory language, namely, that of not giving oneself totally to the other.
Side by side
The table below compares NFP with the most common contraceptive methods on the points couples ask about most. It summarizes Church teaching and general medical information; your doctor can speak to your own health.
| Question | Natural family planning | Contraception |
|---|---|---|
| What changes | The timing of intercourse | The act itself or the fertility of a spouse |
| Church teaching | Permitted for just reasons (CCC 2368, HV 16) | Not permitted (CCC 2370, HV 14) |
| Drugs or devices | None, only observation and charting | Hormones, barriers, devices or surgery |
| Effect on the body | Works with the natural cycle, no side effects from the method | Hormonal methods carry known side effects for some women |
| Who carries it | Shared by both spouses | Often carried by the wife alone |
| Effectiveness | Above 98 percent with perfect use of well taught methods | High for many methods, typical use varies |
| Helps conception later | Yes, the same chart helps find fertile days | No, and fertility may take time to return |
| Shows health problems | Often, through cycle patterns | Hormonal methods can mask them |
Health and early life
Medical informationBarrier methods only keep sperm and egg from meeting. The US bishops note that hormonal methods such as the pill may also change the lining of the uterus, so that if conception occurs, the newly conceived child may be unable to implant. Medical opinions differ on how often this happens, and the concern is stronger with morning after pills. Hormonal contraception also carries side effects for some women, from mood changes to a higher risk of blood clots.
The Church does not forbid hormones used as true medical treatment. Humanae Vitae 15 says that therapeutic means needed to cure a disease are not illicit, even if infertility is a foreseen side effect, as long as infertility is not the purpose. A woman treated for endometriosis or severe cycle disorders is in a different moral situation from a couple using the pill to avoid pregnancy. Ask a doctor, and if you can, one who respects your convictions.
Some methods of birth control are aimed at preventing the union of sperm and egg and therefore act only as contraceptives. These would include barriers such as condoms and diaphragms. By contrast, hormonal methods such as the Pill may work in several ways. They can suppress ovulation or alter cervical mucus to prevent fertilization, and thus act contraceptively.
Is NFP just Catholic contraception
Theological opinionSome critics say NFP can be used with a contraceptive mentality. Faithful moral theologians generally answer that this is possible, but that the fault would lie in the reasons, not the method. Using NFP to avoid children for selfish reasons with no openness at all would be wrong, while the method itself never changes the act. This is a theological application of HV 10 and CCC 2368, which ask that decisions about family size be generous, prudent and reviewed in conscience.
Theologians differ somewhat on how serious the reasons must be. Humanae Vitae uses words often translated as serious or well grounded; most writers read this as real reasons judged honestly by the couple, not a high bar set by others. The bishops note that couples are not expected to leave family size to chance.
Moving from contraception to NFP
Pastoral guidanceMany couples come to this question after years of using contraception. There is no shame in learning. Speak to a priest, bring past choices to confession if that is on your heart, and then start with good teaching. After stopping the pill, cycles can take several months to settle, so an instructor is especially helpful during that time.
The first step is to understand the options in our guide to natural family planning, then choose a method such as the Billings Ovulation Method or Creighton and find a certified teacher. Many couples say the change brought more conversation and tenderness into their Catholic intimacy, not less.
Sources
Every source below is linked to the full text on vatican.va or usccb.org. Quotations are short and given word for word.
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CCC 2370 Doctrine
Catechism of the Catholic Church 2370 (The Sixth Commandment)
Periodic continence, the methods of birth regulation based on self-observation and the use of infertile periods, conforms to the objective criteria of morality: these methods respect the spouses' bodies, encourage tenderness and foster freedom. By contrast, every action intended to render procreation impossible, before, during or after intercourse, is intrinsically evil.
Read the source -
CCC 2368 Doctrine
Catechism of the Catholic Church 2368 (The Sixth Commandment)
For just reasons spouses may wish to space the births of their children. They must ensure their desire does not come from selfishness but fits the generosity of responsible parenthood, and they must conform their behavior to the objective criteria of morality.
Read the source -
CCC 2399 Doctrine
Catechism of the Catholic Church 2399 (The Sixth Commandment)
In brief: regulating births is part of responsible fatherhood and motherhood, but good intentions do not justify morally unacceptable means such as direct sterilization or contraception.
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HV 10 Magisterium
Pope Paul VI, Humanae Vitae 10 (1968)
Responsible parenthood means knowing and respecting the biological processes, mastering instincts by reason and will, and making a prudent and generous decision either to have a large family or, for serious reasons and with respect for the moral law, to avoid a new birth for the time being or indefinitely.
Read the source -
HV 14 Magisterium
Pope Paul VI, Humanae Vitae 14 (1968)
Direct interruption of the generative process already begun, above all direct abortion, is excluded as a means of regulating births. Direct sterilization of man or woman, permanent or temporary, is equally condemned, as is any action before, during or after intercourse specifically intended to prevent procreation.
Read the source -
HV 16 Magisterium
Pope Paul VI, Humanae Vitae 16 (1968)
If there are well-grounded reasons for spacing births, arising from the physical or psychological condition of the spouses or from external circumstances, married couples may take advantage of the natural cycles and have intercourse only during infertile times. This differs essentially from contraception, which impedes the natural process.
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HV 15 Magisterium
Pope Paul VI, Humanae Vitae 15 (1968)
The Church does not consider illicit the use of therapeutic means necessary to cure bodily diseases, even if an impediment to procreation is foreseen, provided that the infertility is not directly intended for any motive.
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FC 32 Magisterium
Pope John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio 32 (1981)
Contraception contradicts the native language that expresses the total reciprocal self-giving of husband and wife with an objectively contradictory language of not giving oneself totally. Respecting the cycle with periodic continence involves a different understanding of the person and of sexuality.
Read the source -
USCCB Married Love Pastoral guidance
USCCB, Married Love and the Gift of Life (the difference between NFP and contraception)
NFP and contraception may look similar in result, but the way matters morally. Contraception suppresses fertility, while with NFP spouses respect God's design and may refrain from union during the fertile time, doing nothing to destroy the love-giving or life-giving meaning of the act.
Read the source -
USCCB Married Love Pastoral guidance
USCCB, Married Love and the Gift of Life (can birth control cause an abortion)
Barrier methods only prevent sperm and egg from meeting, but hormonal methods such as the Pill may also change the lining of the uterus, so that if fertilization occurs a newly conceived life may be unable to implant, a very early abortion. Medical opinions differ on how often this happens; the concern is stronger with morning-after pills.
Read the source