Family
Planning is the Mainstream Moral Choice
Family planning is embraced by religions across the spectrum
as a moral good, a responsible choice, and a basic human right.
The world’s religions recognize that family planning
helps build strong families, protect the health of women and
children, reduce child and spousal abuse, and prevent unwanted
pregnancies.
Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu said, "Planned parenthood
is an obligation of those who are Christians. Our church thinks
we should use scientific methods that assist in family planning."
The Dalai Lama said, "Family planning is crucial, especially
in the developing world."
The Episcopal Church first approved of contraception
for the purpose of family planning in 1930. In a 1994 resolution,
it directed dioceses and agencies to “provide information
to all men and women on the full range of affordable, acceptable,
safe, and non coercive contraceptive and reproductive health
care services.”
In 1954, The Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America stated that “to enable them to more thankfully
receive God’s blessing and reward, a married couple
should plan and govern their sexual relations so that any
child born to their union will be desired both for itself
and in relation to the time of its birth.”
The Presbyterian Church (USA) supports
“full and equal access to contraceptive methods.”
In a recent resolution endorsing insurance coverage for contraceptives,
the church affirmed that “contraceptive services are
part of basic health care” and cautioned that “unintended
pregnancies lead to higher rates of infant mortality, low
birth weight, and maternal morbidity, and threaten the economic
viability of families.”
Jewish traditions have a long history of
support for family planning, dating to the 1929 Reform resolution
noting that birth control contributes to social stability.
In a pioneering 1935 resolution, Women of Reform Judaism expressed
support for lifting bans on the dissemination of information
about birth control.
The Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s
largest Protestant denomination, supports the use of some
forms of family planning by married couples. According to
Dr. Richard Land, President of the denomination’s Ethics
and Religious Liberty Commission, ….in terms of regulating
the number of children and how far apart they are, we would
leave that as a moral decision for the couple, as long as
they used means of birth control that prevented conception
from taking place.”
Unitarian Universalists consider the use
of contraception to be a human right. The 1987 General Assembly
opposed “any move to deny or restrict the distribution
of government funds as a means of restricting access”
to contraception in the U.S. or abroad.
The United Church of Christ General Synod,
in affirming God as “the source of life—our life,
all life, life to the full,” recognizes that “He
has called us to share the work of creation with him, giving
us the privileges and responsibilities of fellowship in this
family and the wide units of society.”
The United Methodist Church, the nation’s
second largest Protestant denomination, says that “each
couple has the right and the duty prayerfully and responsibly
to control conception according to their circumstances.”
Its Resolution on Responsible Parenthood tates that in order
to “support the sacred dimensions of personhood, all
possible efforts should be made by parents and the community
to ensure that each child enters the world with a healthy
body, and is born into an environment conducive to realization
of his or her potential.” To this end, the United Methodist
Church supports “adequate public funding and increased
participation in family planning services by public and private
agencies.”
The Roman Catholic Church is the only major
faith institution in the U.S. to forbid the use of contraception.
However, most Catholics disagree with the prohibition; 75%
of Catholic women of childbearing age who are sexually active
use a contraceptive method forbidden by the church, according
to the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth.
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