Of Birth Control and Unwanted Pregnancies

Married for eight years, Robert and Tanya Maxwell had their hands full trying to raise six children. As devout Catholics, the couple were constrained to follow the teachings of their church. In 1968, Pope Paul VI issued an encyclical letter entitled Humanae Vitae which stated that, …it is always wrong to use contraception to prevent new human beings from coming into existence. The couple were active in the Catholic lay community and vowed to follow the doctrines of their church. Of their six children, the first three offspring were intentional or were conceived with full intent on resulting in pregnancy. They really wanted to only have three children. However, the fourth up to sixth child could be considered an accident brought by the heat of passion. While they remained thankful for having six children, each of whom they saw as a blessing from God, they could not help but feel overwhelmed. Having a big family has really taken a toll on their marriage, time, and finances. After some deliberation, the couple decided to adopt birth control methods or family planning. Definitely, the rhythm method was not appropriate for them. For the sake of the entire...