May we use birth control to avoid a difficult pregnancy?
The short answer
No. However hard a pregnancy may be, deliberately interrupting the conjugal act by contraception is never justified; Humanae Vitae teaches it is never lawful to do evil that good may come. If you need to avoid pregnancy, look into Natural Family Planning.
Never justified
A difficult pregnancy is something no woman looks forward to, especially amid emotional distress. But deliberately interrupting the conjugal act through contraception is never justified.
Humanae Vitae
Humanae Vitae (14) excludes any action before, during or after intercourse specifically intended to prevent procreation. It is not valid to argue for the lesser evil: though one may sometimes tolerate a lesser evil, it is never lawful, even for the gravest reasons, to do evil that good may come of it. Nor can an otherwise normal married life justify deliberately contraceptive acts.
What to do
If you need to avoid pregnancy because of these difficulties, investigate Natural Family Planning; many resources are available, such as those of the Couple to Couple League.
Continue exploring
- Does the Church allow birth control in certain circumstances?Q&A
- How is NFP different from the sin of Onan?Q&A
- Did Fulton Sheen take a permissive stand on contraception?Q&A
- Am I required to have a large family?Q&A
- Are marital relations not supposed to be pleasurable, since they are for reproduction?Q&A
- Can homologous artificial insemination be permitted as a treatment for male infertility?Q&A