THE LATIN WORD FOR BABY IS...

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[This Review Originally Published On JULY 31, 2006.]
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AMERICAN LIFE LEAGUE
The Life Guide Series -- Vol. 2
"The Facts About Birth Control"
by Judie Brown
copyright: 1997
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Although I'm not Catholic, through the years I have made monetary contributions to American Life League (ALL), a Catholic antiabortion organization which publishes quality literature in support of the pro-life movement. (One magazine in particular that would be beneficial to teens regardless of Christian denomination is called, 'REALITY CHECK.') Several years ago, ALL sent me Volumes 1-4 of their 'Life Guide Series' as a premium in appreciation for my years of support.
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Volume 2, 'THE FACTS ABOUT BIRTH CONTROL' is dedicated: "To all those who have been deceived by the birth control movement and victimized by the sexual revolutionaries of our day.".
This booklet of 74 pages was well worth reading as it made me aware of some IMPORTANT FACTS about birth control that I did not learn in my previous 45 years. I am single, I always have been single (and since the "lady" seems to be extinct in my country), I probably always will be single. And also since my religious convictions exclude premarital sex, the information I found herein will not likely impact my lifestyle. But since it may be relevant to your circumstances, I'll share some interesting facts with you that I gleaned from my reading:
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* In 1970, the federal government authorized and funded the first government birth control program. Shortly thereafter, in 1973, the Supreme Court struck down all laws prohibiting abortion. It was clear that the proponents of birth control had won the cultural argument. No longer would people have to worry about the moral implications of acting against nature, because the government was in charge of the question. [page 5]
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* Over the last 30 years, for example, the number of known venereal diseases has grown from 5 to 50. The divorce rate has skyrocketed. The number of out-of-wedlock pregnancies has risen, and in America alone, there are more than one million surgical abortions each year. In addition, millions of unseen abortions occur because of the ways in which certain types of birth control actually work. [page 5]
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* True contraceptives never cause abortions. The only true contraceptives are condoms, diaphragms and spermicides. [page 8]
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* Birth Control: An action taken to control the onset of pregnancy -- or to control the outcome, if pregnancy does occur, by ending the pregnancy before the baby is born. The Pill, the IUD and other methods act not only against pregnancy but also against the newly-conceived baby. [page 9]
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* Far from being a check to the sexual revolution, contraception is the fuel that facilitated the beginning of the sexual revolution and enables it to continue to rage. In the past, many men and women refrained from illicit sexual unions simply because they were not prepared for the responsibilities of parenthood. But once a fairly reliable contraceptive appeared on the scene, the barrier to sex outside the confines of marriage fell. The connection between sex and love also fell quickly. [page 13]
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* Fertilizaton: A person begins the first day of his or her life within the mother's body. At this point the 23 chromosomes carried by the sperm and the 23 chromosomes carried by the egg combine to form a new one-cell human being, or human embryo, containing 46 chromosomes. The new person is called a human zygote. Each of the 46 chromosomes is composed of genes, or units of DNA, that contains all of the genetic information of the new person. No genetic information is either gained or lost. The zygote is already genetically an individual human being and a "he" or a "she." [page 20]
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* Oral contraceptives work in three different ways. They:

1) prevent ovulation (release of an egg from the ovary);
2) cause changes in the cervical mucus, which block or slow the travel of the sperm; and
3) prevent implantation of the newly conceived baby into the lining of the mother's womb, thus causing an abortion. [page 23]
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* While more than 50 percent of all marriages end in divorce, it is very rare for spouses using Natural Family Planning to divorce (2 to 5 percent). [page 48]
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* Call it a fetus if you will. Just don't forget that "fetus" is the Latin word for "baby". [page 73]
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While I obviously find the use of abortifacients repugnant and would urge only the use of "true contraceptives" (i.e., condoms, diaphragms and spermicides), I must state that I oppose the Catholic dogma against the use of true contraceptives within a marriage as stated on page 70: "The first universal legislation by a Pope against contraception, contained in the Decretals of Gregory IX (4.5.7) contained Si conditiones; it declared null any marriage entered into with a condition of avoiding children."
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It states on page 50 that, "We must, as human beings and children of God, be aware of the illicit practices promoted in a society that has lost its moral compass. How can we expect more from the younger generation than we have given them when we have consciously taken moral absolutes away from them?" No argument from me on THAT point.
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One cannot put a price on the information in this booklet, particularly if it saves the life of an unborn child and/or prevents the ruination of a girl's youth.
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Dr. William Lynch, who taught Ob-Gyn at Tufts Medical College... never wearied of reminding not only his students and his patients but anyone else who would listen to him that "It takes ten years to know what a new discovery will do for you and it takes twenty years to find out what it will do TO you." [page 72] That's a very perceptive observation. It's now been 33 years since abortion was declared a legally acceptable form of murder in the so-called "civilized" United States, and it's been about 43 years since "The Pill" helped usher in "The Sexual Revolution." Take a good look around you and see what these loveless things have done TO us. To quote Warren Zevon: "It Ain't That Pretty At All."
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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