Contraception and abortion: Fruits of the same rotten tree?

Abstract

This article seeks to show how contraception, when generally accepted in a society, helps to bring about a radical change in social perceptions of sexual intercourse, human life, the human person, science, and morality in general. On account of this, contraception helps to ingrain abortion and other anti-life practices into the culture that accepts it and, therefore, in no sense can be considered as a panacea for abortion. Particular attention is given to the thought of John Paul II on this matter who noted that “despite their differences of nature and moral gravity, contraception and abortion are often closely connected, as fruits of the same tree” (Evangelium vitae, n. 13).

Lay summary: The article considers the connection between contraception and abortion and defends Pope John Paul II's claim that “despite their differences of nature and moral gravity, contraception and abortion are often closely connected, as fruits of the same tree.” The thesis is that contraception is a “game-changer” in the sense that it changes the way we think about some very fundamental realities such as attitudes to sex, to life, to science, to the human person, and to morality. Any one of these changes would have a significant impact on a society in terms of promoting a culture of death: together they are devastating.

Keywords:

• Contraception
• Abortion
• Evangelium vitae
• John Paul II

Additional information

Notes on contributors

William Newton

Dr. William Newton is associate professor of Theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville and visiting professor of Theology at the International Theological Institute in Austria. After ten years working in scientific research, Dr. Newton turned to the study of theology and has his Ph.D. from the John Paul II Institute for Studies of Marriage and Family, a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Catholic University of Leuven, and a Master's Degree from the International Theological Institute. He has published in a range of academic journals including The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, Anthropotes, Homiletic and Pastoral Review, The Josephinum Journal of Theology, The Sower, and Inside the Vatican. In 2011 he published a book on Catholic social teaching. Dr. Newton lives in Austria with his wife and five children. His email address is [email protected].