Can't you stick to the subject of the article? I could just as easily say, "Pop out babies every nine months who grow up to suck up all the resources and produce their own "help me I'm poor" litters? Sounds like a ploy for future Democrat voters."

And neither comment is true. It's all on the head of the archaic out-of-touch-with-reality-give-us-more-worshipers-who-throw-their-last-cent-into-the-collection-plate catholic church. And it doesn't care what your politics are as long as you don't oppose the making of more little catholics and, if you are the US, you keep your borders open for illegal aliens to invade so they can thrive and.... you guessed it! Make money to throw in the collection plate.

I was thinking the same thing, Barry - the church's solution seems to be exactly that; assume that people who work won't have the time and/or the energy for sex. I would think that if that were true, then just having to take care of the dozen kids you already have would have the same effect.

I'm Catholic, and I think the Church's stand on birth control is ridiculous! I've read the Cirriculum Vitae, where the case is laid out, and it makes no sense. IF God can create a virgin birth, he can easily get around the Pill, or poke a hole in a condom. No man-made device could stop a pregnancy that God wants to happen. Further, IF it's okay to delay childbirth or limit the number of children, as NFP advocates claim, then HOW can the method used really matter? As long as we're not talking abortion, then I don't think it matters at all! And really, which is the greater evil, birth control or ABORTION??? I think that's pretty clear, and birth control can prevent future abortions, so that makes it a good thing, right???

T Bourlon- same here. I'm Catholic, and if God wants me to have a baby, I will, no matter what birth control I use (even abstinance failed once!). I'm the result of my mom's first time having sex, my sisters are the result of the doctor not telling her that antibiotics cancel out the pill. I have a nephew that was conceived while my sister was on the depo shot, and a newborn niece from my sister that supposedly couldn't conceive again due to endometriosis. I've used birth control to limit my family to what I can support, financially and emotionally. It's irresponsible to say 'I'll take as many kids as God sends me' if you can't feed them.

I believe the main stance of the Church on why birth control is wrong is that some kinds might cause a fertilized egg to not implant. They equate this with murder. Personally, I'd rather see a few cells (without even the start of a heart or brain yet) lost, rather than force it implant, grow, develop, be born, and face a life that could contain starvation, neglect, or even abuse. Not to mention the fact that that egg may not even have implanted anyway, or could have defects that would result in a miscarriage.

The only reason they don't like birth control is the fact that (the mother in articl) they wont have cheap labor to do their dishes or laundry. Fourteen Kids, WTF on a 180 bucks a month? I waste that in gas going to and from work. I think the only reason the church hates birth control is that there would be less choices for them priests who like little boys.

Mythology has an important place in our lives. Just so long as it's recognized as mythology.

Your ignorance is staggering; using an article about a single Catholic Policy in a foreign country as need to spout your hatred towards all Christians that do not even share the Popes beliefs. Its bitter hatred and prejudices like yours that needs to be gotten rid of...

Ken, where did you find any hatred or prejudice expressed in Luke's comment?

Hockey puck. Less children means more resources for the ones here already. Hence less poverty in the long term.

kyrob, you're just kidding, right?

how will use of birth control 'create' poverty?? instead, wouldn't it provide people with the ability to not bring childrent they can't afford into the world?

KYrob is either a troll or in serious need of medication.

kyrob,

Unless you are joking (and hope that you are)... Contraceptives would mean that they will be less children picking through the garbage because the parents just may have enough to feed them. For instance, if the woman in this article had 5 children instead of 14, she would not now have 9 children doomed to a certain life of poverty because they have no education.

Must not have bothered to look up history on the subject. It has been proven many times that you reduce the birth rate, and you increase the prosperity of any given culture. Well ... up to a point. You do need to have a birth rate that will support the population, of course. But the birth rate in the Philippines far exceeds that needed to support the population, as is true in most of the truly poor nations.

Seconded!

lol

I would gladly volunteer my time and body for lessons for the little cutie front and center!

She's more than likely thinking, 'Now how can I get that fool of a BF to use that?' The culture over there is VERY male centric and it's bragging rights for how VIRILE they are by having more and more kids.

Really?!?!?

That comment is what happens when you drink too much of the blood wine and type.

Senator Santorum, is that you?

Yeah, because illegal abortions are working out so well for them, right? Legal or not, they're going to have them. But go ahead and judge away since you're an expert on their culture and, I'm sure, have a firm grasp on their situation. Thanks for thinking it through, though. You're a true scholar and a gentleman.

please note, they are already having abortions. also, take heed that with birth control, there would be no need for abortions. see, no need to end a pregnancy when pregnancy is prevented.

doh!

hdrake has a hockey puck in his cranium.

If there is birth control then there is no pregnancy.. so what will they be aborting?

It seems Henry VIII had a good idea. :)

I think Jesus would have considered the Catholics the modern-day equivalent of the Saducees and Pharisees. Not necessarily bad people, but too bound up in rules and regulations. Have to go to church so many times, have to confess so many times, have to partake in the Eucharist so many times, ... Oh yeah, and don't forget to do the rosary.

So yeah, I could definitely see them in the group that Jesus would have been persecuted by. Remember the Inquisition? They don't kill you outright now, at least, but they can still pull the strings of those who can.

Because the men don't CARE if they have more kids or not, it's the women who have to take care of them all anyway. Women are the one's who have to get the men to use a condom.

Bingo Janeyre!!! It's called the prevalent male bragging rights culture of how much sex a male can have and not be responsible for their offspring. It is engrained in Africa, India and the Phillipines. Until fathers show responsibility for their own flesh and blood, nothing will change with more contraception methods. Fatherless children are a byproduct of immature boys/men who only think with their penis. This is what creates, and I mean literally creates impoverished societies.

yeah, and both the woman and her husband have jobs! so, there goes that line of 'logic'. i left the catholic church years ago, and this position of theirs is one of the many reasons why. archaic thinking.

Anita, the sad thing is that a lot of these women die trying to have back street abortions, then the kids are left with no mother. This is makes me both sad and angry. Just think, this is where some people want to take us here in America. I always say, if you have "man parts" you should have no say in this arena. I know that if I as a mother could only educate 5 of my 14 children it would break my heart.

Allmill2 - I am old enough to remember when abortion was illegal and the news stories about the aftermath of back alley abortions or the ability of wealthy women to go to another country to get their abortions. At least one member of my own family a generation ago died as a result of such an abortion during the Depression. I am perfectly able and willing to vote in an election based solely on this issue - it is that important. Anyone who would deny someone else their ability to control their own reproduction really isn't a small government anything.

Another hockey puck heard from.

Sorry, I had no self control when I blurted out hockey puck, hockey puck.

What you are saying is partially true - but they don't have much else to do but sit around,work, and that is how they entertain themselves - just like some in our country - have sex. It passes the time because we don't have the funds to go roller skating! Thats when they start breeding like rats because 'it's what they do'.

I struggle more and more each day with the teachings of the Catholic Church. I REALLY have a problem with the Church telling married couples how often they can have sex. Go ahead and kick me out, since my husband and I have used artificial means of birth control to limit our family to only as many kids as we can afford. But you'll have REALLY empty pews if you kick out every Catholic who ignores the Church teachings on birth control......

It's EASIER to bash the Catholic Church, than it is to accept personal responsibility for one's actions, AND exercise a little self control. NOT ONCE did the women who had fourteen kids say that ANY of them were due to rape. Some people just LOVE to point the finger at, and blame the Catholic Church for all of THEIR OWN ills.

Oh seriously. Justify the church's stance on this if you like. Having birth control available and educating men and women on its use doesn't make people go wild fornicating all over, and yes, it does reduce the birth rate. If that women with her 14 kids had consistent access to birth control and it was encouraged she most likely wouldn't have 14 kids. And no, I don't think she said she had wanted 14 kids, and yes, poverty does increase when you have few resources and lots of people using what you do have.

And you realistically think that men and women will live in the same house and never or rarely have sex, still have a healthy union, and with nothing else to entertain themselves with not want more sex? I just love these people who say, "Oh, just don't ever have sex if you can't afford kids" and think normal, healthy humans will just turn over and go to sleep their whole lives...lol. That is why birth control education and availability is important. And those who say that don't seem to have a clue that women are often put into the position (literally) of not having the opportunity or permission to say no when their husbands want to have sex. In the middle of the night when he turns to her it isn't as simple as no in many households over this planet. If men run the family they get say over her body, and that includes punishing her in subtle or not-so-subtle ways if she says no. Sometimes her society says she must submit, and sometimes he may go elsewhere if she does.

It isn't as simple as hold your legs together forever, and yes, more kids without more resources DOES equal poverty.

Breast feeding. . . yeah, but if both parents have to work to even achieve poverty how would that work? In addition, my understanding is that natural family planning , to be effective, really means access to technology and medical science, e.g. to pinpoint ovulation and so forth. I'd like to see the effectiveness on natural family planning when correlated with income. And the fact is, when you are living at a barely subsistence level, it's not like you can head out for dinner and a movie as alternative entertainment.

Pablo and Me-824303: Are you suggesting that married couples NOT have sex? These are obviously uneducated people who have not been taught the intricacies of biology. I might note that you two also could learn a few things in that subject area.

You know what you call couples who use the rhythmic method and "natural" family planning? Parents.

Pablo and Me-824303: Are you suggesting that married couples NOT have sex?

Yes, that's exactly what they and the Catholic Church are suggesting as the fix for this.

Please note that many women in less-developed countries have no say over whether or not they have sex with their husbands. African co-workers tell me "They will beat you" if you refuse.

I think saying "a little self-control" belies the poster's hatred of women being sexual at all, never mind a lack of understanding of how these women's sexual lives take place.

Anyway, there's nothing wrong about birth control- a lot better than "natural family planning!"

RAM-762581.....

Your comment seems to reflect more about YOUR inability to say NO to YOUR husband/boyfriend then anything else.

I really doubt if condoms are going to help bring down the birth rate. The same men who beat their women into sexual submission are the same ones who won't wear condoms. It's going to have to be implants or the shot.

you mean, people still think nursing prevents pregnancy?!?! lol that's so not true. hello, 21st century calling. my sister was breastfeeding her daughter, and guess what? oh, and had also gone back on the pill, but had only been taking it a week without using other contraception, instead of giving it a month to start working completely.

tada- welcome to the world, child number 2. less than a year after her daughter was born.

get off your archaic 'methods' of child prevention and grasp science. and my grandmother used the 'rhythm' method. she said it worked for her. lol she had 14 kids.

and me, i have a hard time saying no to my husband. we love each other, enjoy our sex life. what the hell's wrong with that? nothing is wrong with it, that's what!

More birth control means reduced consequence

That's the whole point isn't it? Sex is supposed to have consequences, or in other words, punishment, if not engaged in solely for procreation. The RCC believes that recreational sex should have the potential for unintended consequences similar to, say, russian roulette. If you do it, you deserve the bad things that happen to you.

Unlike much of the animal kingdom, human sexuality is not limited to times of fertility. Humans feel sexual desire regardless of the fertility of the female. The RCC simply refuses to believe this is normal. They view it as a challenge for people to resist and a behavior the church can control. Mother Teresa is considered a saint because she cared for poor, starving, orphaned and abandoned children while still preaching against birth control so women continued to provide her with her fundraising "product" and props. I would consider her a saint if she had taught people how to prevent having all those poor starving children to begin with.

And anyone who thinks a woman can't get pregnant while breast feeding is delusional.

You are a HUGE part of the problem. That was the most delusional comment I've read in weeks.

Poverty has nothing to do with birthrate? Are you serious? Since when are children free? Using birth control and educating others on how to avoid pregnancy IS RESPONSIBLE!!! The church blocking that is IRRESPONSIBLE! Less birth control = more abortions, legally or not! They way you BELIEVE others should act is your opinion. Forcing those choices by blocking options for others is IRRESPONSIBLE, RISKY, and ultimately COSTLY and will lead to MORE destroyed fetuses!

Comments/beliefs like yours is what makes many hate the church.

Breastfeeding can be a natural form of birth control, if and only if, the child is only nursing- no other food or drink. Most babies get introduced to solids by 6 months. And it still has a failure rate, just like everything else.

I did natural family planning, and it worked well for me. But I had a digital thermometer, a chart I printed off the computer to track everything, and an alarm clock to make sure I checked my temperature at the same time every day. Since I didn't have kids yet, I also had uninterrupted sleep before taking my temperature, an important componant in getting the right temperature to chart. I also had an education, so I could understand all the charting and rules for the process. I think some of those things might be hard to come by in the slums these women live in.

Wow, so many people with such strong feelings against what the Catholic Church teaches, without even knowing what it is that the Catholic Church teaches. My wife and I practice the sympto-thermal method of NFP, (encouraged by the Catholic Church) which is the MOST EFFECTIVE form of birth control available. Our entire marriage, including (and especially) our sex life, has improved since beginning NFP. We have reached a point in our finances where another child at this point would be irresponsible, and the Catholic Church encourages couples to make medically and financially responsible decisions as to the size and timing of growing their family.

The cost of contraceptives and the education to use them properly is going to be MORE expensive than the cost of a thermometer, a clock, and a book of charts and the education required to use THEM properly. And in the end, the rate of contraceptive failure is HIGHER than the rate of NFP failure, resulting in an increase in unintended pregnancies. And several studies have shown that availability of contraceptives and abortion lead to an INCREASE in unplanned pregnancies.

Links to back up my statements:

Maybe, if you have access to the "thermometer books, charts, and education", and know how to interpret the signs properly, it can be effective. But if they haven't even completed an elementary education, and if the local churches argue against sex education (as they do in many parts of the world), just how are they supposed to understand all that?

Unlike a lot of people posting here, I don't think the Catholic Church is evil. I just think they are locked into medieval mind-set and are rapidly making themselves irrelevant by trying to control their members lives too much.

So, their capability of correctly using contraceptives would be too much to assume as well. Even in "educated" countries, barrier methods are laughably prone to failure, hormonal methods are dangerous (the pill is a class 1 carcinogen, like cigarette smoke, radiation, asbestos, formaldehyde, etc.) and ineffective unless taken properly, and all other methods are expensive and prone to side effects, requiring regular medical application/observations/interventions.

The Church does not argue against education of natural family planning. It actually sponsors it, and in some places, even REQUIRES it as part of marriage preparation. It is safe, and the only possible "side effect" is early detection of other underlying medical problems, such as hormone imbalances, ovarian cysts and cancers and numerous other Women's Health issues. Plus, if a couple decides a child would be a responsible addition to their family, it provides all the information for successfully achieving pregnancy as well. Talk about comprehensive health care. A one-shot solution to both regulating or achieving pregnancy, free of charge (other than the education and the price of the thermometer and booklet of charts), derived from science and medical research.

The Catholic Church is not backwards, and most definitely not controlling. It is freeing. It is the mindless, meaningless, self-centered sexual pursuits that are a crutch.

Who is more liberated? The person for whom sexual gratification-of-self is an end in itself; or the person for whom sex is one (among many) means to a satisfying, unified relationship and the continuation of civilization?

Please don't take the FSM's name in vain!

What many people don't realize is that, while the Bible has a passage that says 'Thou shalt not lie with a man as with a woman, it is a detestable thing'

Nowhere does it say that 'Thou shalt not lie with a child as with an adult', so therefore per the Bible sex with children is OK (so long as it is not your child--the Bible says thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter, son, mother, father, mother in law, aunt, etc)...but says NOTHING about other people's children, so pedophilia is apparently not a sin in the Abrahamic belief system.

Which makes sense as there was no such thing as pedophilia then--life was short, and hard, infant mortality was high, and it was biologically advantageous to marry early and often in hopes of having at least ONE child who survived to adulthood. This is the same fallacy as in the argument that the Muslim Prophet Muhammad was a 'pedophile'--there WAS no such thing as pedophilia back then!

(NO--I DON'T condone child molestation, nor am I Christian. This is just FYI.)

So the Catholics want to impose the theocracy of religious law on the Philippines. They are not more evolved than the Muslims after-all.

I miss having the Catholic nuns run our city's hospital. Then, the hospital manager, Sister Cathrine,who had taken a vow of poverty, and lived in my apartment complex. The secular guy managing it now demands a six figure income, and everything is booted to the collections department pronto, and nursing has been cut back so drastically that the city would back their going on strike.

There are, and have always been outstanding people that continue to do the work of God without pay, and without Church money and support. There isn't profit in helping poor people rise above poverty. Keeping people scared, and ignorant is more profit for the Church. Help Save a soul, and move on, let people figure it out, they can. Oop's need to stop or I'll go to hell for speaking out about how I feel about The Church.. hint, sheep can survive on their own, we keep them in a flock so they can be sheared...once your saved and except Jesus, you can make it on your own helping others. You won't make money, but you will be rewarded.

Unless you are God: -- keep one foot on the foundation of your faith (idealism, ethics of Religion), and the other on the foundation of Life (practicality, laws of State); that way you won't get confused what you can mow or poison, and what you can kill and eat. Keep Faith and State separate.

This from a person whose picture and name are Satanic.