Thursday, November 10, 2005

A Hard Pill to Swallow

Yesterday's Christianity Today has a fantastic essay by Agnieszka Tennant, an associate editor of the magazine, on how she slowly came to understand that artificial contraception, specifically, the pill, was not such a good idea.

Mircette and I became one shortly before my wedding day. In a way, my union with the wallet-sized green box of 28 pills was more complete than the bond I had with my husband. We devoured each other: I swallowed the little tablet daily, and its hormones penetrated the cells of my body.

There were unspoken vows in our seemingly side-effect-free union. Come sickness or health, I promised to be faithful to Mircette and take it regularly at the same time every day. In turn, the pill pledged to suppress my ovulations.

I could have sex whenever I wanted, without fearing that a pregnancy would impose on my incipient career. We spoke each other's love languages: Mircette met my needs for adventure and protection—simultaneously; I served as its interactive billboard among my friends. And the wonder drug's makers got my $20 co-pay each month. Everyone was satisfied!

That's when a more captivating lover began to turn my eye.

Read on! Whatever your take on contraception, this is a compelling story, from a non-Catholic . As for me, personally, I think I'm seeing the absolute radicality of what the Church teaches.

But, since I'm not planning on getting married or having kids, that could be construed as too easy a thing to say.

No comments: