(Nov. 10, 2009) Sexual morality isn’t the only draw in choosing
natural family
planning (NFP) these days. Those concerned with the environment are finding that
NFP doesn’t pollute the waterways as do the synthetic hormones and other
chemicals of artificial birth control.A recent Time magazine author related how NFP rates high for such reasons. “Like all good Catholics, my husband and I had to attend church-run marriage prep before we tied the knot last year,” wrote Kathleen Kingsbury in Time’s Oct. 26 issue.
“I was surprised, however, during the hard sell on natural family planning, that this updated version of the rhythm method was being advertised not only as morally correct but also as ‘organic’ and ‘green.’ I was even more surprised when I found out that some of the most popular instructors of NFP — known in secular circles as the Fertility Awareness Method — are non-Catholics who praise it as a means of avoiding both ingesting chemicals and excreting them into rivers and streams.”
The article, sprinkled with terms such as phthalates and bisphenol, also looks into the use of chemicals in the makeup of sex toys and tracks a trend of earth-friendly production methods of these products.
The article also says that the Catholic Church is catching on to the organic trend. "People pay $32 for eye cream because they're told it is good for them and the planet," says Jessica Marie Smith, whom Time says repackaged the NFP program for the diocese of Madison, WI. "We figured we could do the same with NFP."
Ingest, Poke and Patch
In an article on the diocese’s website, “Green is the New Black: How NFP is good for your soul and the earth,” Smith, the diocese’s family planning coordinator, says, “Doesn’t it seem interesting that we’ll go to great lengths to ensure our meat, dairy and other grocery products are ‘all natural’ and hormone free, but then we’ll turn around and ingest, poke or patch our bodies with all sorts of synthetic hormones, the ramifications of which we’re still discovering?”
Women in Berwyn, Cicero, Stickney, N. Riverside and other nearby suburbs in the western Chicago, IL area who want to know more about natural family planning should call WomanCare Services, at 708-795-6000.