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Fr. Joe Answers:
The short answer to your question is: you are taking the medication prescribed by your doctor in order to regulate your menstrual cycle and ease your discomfort. The medication is achieving this effect. Neither you or your doctor intends that this medication be used for the purpose of birth control. In your case the situation is made even clearer by the fact that you are not sexually active and do not intend to be so. So your assumption that there is no sin involved in your taking the contraceptive in these circumstances is correct.
Now some background. The Church has a traditional guideline for determining the morality of such an action. It is called “the principle of double effect.” This applies to actions where two effects will follow, one bad and the other good. In order for a person to perform such an action, four conditions must be present:
1. The act itself must be morally good or at least indifferent.
2. The agent (person performing the act) may not positively will the bad effect but may merely permit it. The bad effect is sincerely not intended.
3. The good effect must be produced directly from the action, not the bad effect.
4. The good effect must be sufficiently desirable to compensate for allowing the bad effect.
The sum of these is that the good effect of an action is what is directly willed and the bad effect is an unintended by-product of the action.
In this case your intention is to regulate your cycle and ease your pain. You have no intention to practice birth control, and in fact have every intent to live a chaste life as a single person. Therefore your conscience can be clear!
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This isnt’ the best and most complete answer. Although one’s conscience can be clear, another question to ask is, “Do I really NEED to take the pill?” or “Are there any other options to treat my fertility isseus?” To quote Jason Evert in his Love, Sex & Babies pamphlet (Catholic Answers), “…many of these conditions [endometriosis, ovarian cysts, irregular cycles, cramps, etc.] have alternative remedies without …its adverse side effects,” such as an increase of risk of breast cancer, blood clots, etc. Look into the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction, and find a Creighton Teacher near you.
I am concerned about my somewhat more complex situation. I have been married for 16 years, and we have been blessed with two beautiful children. We did use birth control in the past, as I did not fully understand the teachings of our faith. Since, I have insisted on rhythm and abstinence with the full acceptance of God’s will superceding at any time. In fact, recently, we have been wishing we had more children. However, my problem is that I was put on the pill then for severe ovarian cysts and their complex nature and risk to my ovaries. After we had two children, I decided to deal with the risk to my ovaries and potential pregnancy, because we believe in God’s will. However, recently, on top of epilepsy, crohn’s disease, and two previous c-sections (our youngest is 6), the cysts are often debilitating. Today, I had to leave work, see the doctor, get yet another ultrasound to learn that there were two full cysts and one that had ruptured…not to mention a high amount of ketones in my urine. Essentially, my body, at 39, is saying, slow down. The doctor prescribed pain killers, birth controll pills to “surpress my ovaries,” and bed rest. I filled the prescriptions and now don’t know what to do. I will pray for an answer, and I can call our pastor tomorrow about the Catholic way, but I am having trouble sleeping even now. If someone is awake somewhere, please, please help me figure this out. God bless you all.
Rebekah, this may be 2 months too late, but I know where you are coming from. I am a Catholic, also a nurse practitioner, and I understand the medical implications for birth control. There are many unsympathetic Catholics with opinions on why you should not use birth control for relief of symptoms- and the pain and debilitation is very real.
However, I have also has polycystic ovarian syndrome- initially controlled with birth control, later I was switched to metformin (a diabetic medication) and my cycles returned to normal- it is also indicated, and I have had better symptom relief.
Let your doctor know how you feel- the medical guidelines state to start with birth control, but if you are morally opposed, he should be able to help you find alternative. Perhaps a referral to an endocrinologist may be helpful. Talk with your pastor as well, he may be able to offer you some insight to your specific situation.
It’s odd, if a patient is Jewish or Muslim, we would not use a medication that was Pork based, without question. But for a Catholic patient, we impose progestogens (as the researched medical guidelines state) as a first option without questioning how it influences their personal beliefs.
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