Dr. John Rock and “the Pill”
A half century ago, Time Magazine gushed with the naïve
excitement of a junior high school student:
“Some of
the most hush-hush medical research has been pursued in dozens of laboratories
in the effort to find a contraceptive pill.”[i] When “the Pill” debuted on the cultural
scene, its entrance was trumpeted by a Catholic physician. Dr. John Rock “attended Mass daily and kept a crucifix on the wall above his office
desk….As part of the infertility research at his clinic, Rock was able to
conduct the first human trials for the Pill in Boston…. When the Pill received
FDA approval in 1960, Rock's work on behalf of the Pill came to the forefront.
At age 70, Rock launched a one-man campaign to gain Vatican approval of the
Pill. Rock argued that using the Pill was a more precise way of following the
rhythm method. He strongly believed that the church should consider it a ‘natural,’
and therefore acceptable, form of birth control ….As Rock became a familiar
figure in America and abroad, his view quickly took root among laity of the
church as well as among many Catholic religious leaders.”[ii] In
fairness to Dr. Rock, one has to wonder whether he would have been such a
cheerleader for “the Pill”, had he understood that it can work in an
abortifacient manner. Would that have
been enough, to help him to appreciate the wisdom of the Church’s teaching?
According to Planned Parenthood, “the Pill” is now
the most widely used of the various contraceptive methods.[iii] In an age of increased awareness about the foods
we consume, it is unbelievably ironic that so many are seemingly unconcerned about ingesting chemicals (or for that
matter, placing foreign objects on or in their bodies) to "protect"
themselves against their natural fertility.
STDs
A half century after the arrival of "the Pill," there were 56 times more new cases of STD infection, than
there were overall infections in 1957:
- As per the Centers for Disease Control, 340,687 cases of STDs were reported in 1957.[iv]
- A half century later, “The CDC estimates that 19 million new [STD] infections occur each year, almost half of them among young people ages 15 to 24.”[v]
Rape
In a half century, the rate of forcible rape
of women tripled:
- In 1960, there were 17,190 forcible rapes of women (9.6 per 100,000 people).[vi]
- A half century later, the FBI reports 92,455 annual forcible rapes of women (30.9 per 100,000 people).[vii]
Marriage and Divorce
Over a half century, Americans became
less likely to marry. Of those fewer marrying, they were more likely to divorce:
- In 1957, there was a marriage rate of 8.9 per 1000 people and a divorce rate of 2.2 per 1000 people.[viii]
- A half century later, there is a marriage rate of 7.4 per 1000 people and a divorce rate of 3.6 per 1000 people.[ix]
The Children of Divorce
Based upon her long term
studies, researcher Judith Wallerstein maintains that “the major impact of divorce happens when they [i.e., children] enter
young adulthood ….what we all believe now in America-- and all of our resources
have gone into this-- that it's the breakup that matters. And we tell parents--
attorneys tell them, mental health people tell them-- that if you can settle
your problems between you with civility, if you can settle the financial
affairs with some justice, and if
the child will continue to have contact with both parents, the
child is home free….Many parents are told that if you're unhappy, the child is
unhappy….most children, when there's a divorce, are very surprised by the parents'
action….Get whatever help you need….it's hard for me to believe that 45% of
marriages are so bad that they really need to divorce”[x]
Silence Among Clergy???
The Sexual Revolution has left untold victims in its
path. Ready availability of contraceptives
and abortifacients has ushered in an era where 56 times more Americans get an
STD each year, than 1957’s total number of infected Americans. The rate of forcible rape of women has
tripled. Fewer Americans marry and those
who do are more likely to divorce. We
are barely beginning to fully grasp the devastating impact divorce has on
children. With such data, one would expect
that Catholics – particularly the clergy
– would proudly, joyfully and enthusiastically embrace Church teaching, in
regard to marriage, family, and human sexuality.
As per a review of “Catholics and Contraception:
An American History,” “the earliest
part of the 20th Century was not characterized by regular preaching
about contraception from any pulpits. Among non-Catholic clergy, adherents were
even quietly gathering to contraceptive promoters. Yet, no Protestant
denomination formally supported contraception until the Anglicans in 1930….Pope
Pius XI’s encyclical of that year….Casti Connubii…is a profound and beautiful
treatise on marriage….While
the 1930s, 1940s and early 1950s saw a growing promotion and acceptance of
authentic teaching on marriage and marital relations, hints of dissent became
ever more present - starting in the late 1950s….more and more priests and
bishops seemed to be signaling - often through thundering silence - that a
change in teaching was on the horizon….It was into a festering chasm of chaos
and confusion that Pope Paul VI presented Humane Vitae”[xi]
Instead of clerical embrace of the truth about marriage,
family, and human sexuality, we have even witnessed the absurd. As per a study of Roman Catholic priests in
England and Wales, “43 per cent
actively opposed the Vatican's stance on contraception, while a further 19 per
cent were unsure….one in
four priests was no longer convinced of the need for chastity….40 per
cent believed that the Church's attitude to divorce and remarriage should be liberalized."[xii]
Casti Connubii [See also, Why Johnny Can't Understand the Meaning of Marriage: A Primer on Casti Connubii] provides a warning: “If any confessor or pastor of souls, which
may God forbid, lead the faithful entrusted to him into these errors or should
at least confirm them by approval or by guilty silence, let him be mindful of
the fact that he must render a strict account to God, the Supreme Judge, for
the betrayal of his sacred trust.”[xiii]
[i] Contraceptive Pill?,Time Magazine,
5/6/57 www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,809446,00.html?promoid=googlep
[ii] People & Events: Dr. John Rock
(1890-1984), The American Experience www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pill/peopleevents/p_rock.html
[iii] Facts on
Contraceptive Use, Guttmacher Institute, January 2008 www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_contr_use.html
[iv] Cases of sexually transmitted diseases
reported by state health departments and rates per 100,000 civilian
population: United States, 1941-1993, CDC Wonder http://wonder.cdc.gov/wonder/STD/OSTD3202/Table_1.html
[v] STDs Today, National Prevention
Information Network www.cdcnpin.org/scripts/std/std.asp
[vi] United States Crime Rates 1960 - 2006
(Source: FBI, Uniform Crime Reports) www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm
[vii] Crime in the United States 2006, Federal
Bureau of Investigation
[viii] U.S. Census
Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the
United States 2003 www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/03statab/vitstat.pdf
[ix] Births, Marriages, Divorces, and Deaths:
Provisional Data for January 2007, National Vital Statistics Reports,
Volume 56, Nbr 1, October 2007 www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr56/nvsr56_01.pdf
[x] Online News
Hour, Unexpected Legacy of Divorce,
12/19/00
[xi] Re: “Catholics and
Contraception: an American History, Life Cycles, Winter 2005 http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeoqpd6/pnfpn/lifecyc/Lifecycles11-02-05.pdf
[xii] Elizabeth Day, Most Catholic priests 'do not support Rome
over contraception', The Telegraph, 5/4/03
[xiii] Pope Pius XI, Casti Conubii, December 31, 1930 www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_31121930_casti-connubii_en.html
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