"Responsible" Parenting

Looking at Humanae Vitae, in paragraph 10 regarding "Responsible Parenthood," Pope Paul IV makes yet another one of his many strong claims as he states that "With regard to physical, economic, psychological and social conditions, responsible parenthood is exercised by those who prudently and generously decide to have more children, and by those who, for serious reasons and with due respect to moral precepts, decide not to have additional children for either a certain or an indefinite period of time." In more simple and modern language, the Pope is asserting that parents are only responsible with respect to having children if they carefully plan when they will have children with intentional pregnancies as well as these plans being at a time that is reasonable for them to be capable of raising a child. A "reasonable time" can be based on various factors, such as financial situations or mental readiness.

While I believe that it is important to be ready to have a baby, I do not agree with his opinion that pregnancies need to be planned so explicitly. I feel that a problem with his view is that it does not look at situations objectively or on a case by case basis. For example, a couple may know they want a child and be in an appropriate state to have one, as the Pope would support, but just want to wait for it happen naturally so they can feel the excitement of surprise instead of putting planned effort into exactly when this happens. I believe that this approach is just as acceptable as the Pope's strict prescription, but he would still reject this because it does not involve a high enough level of "responsibility" to adhere to his and the church's high standards. This lack of flexibility is the root of the consequences associated with this view. The Pope's reliance on natural law and fixed views make it impossible for him and others to be accepting of other's situations. Being so against events that are really not that different from the view that he is advocating can cause people that have children that do not follow these directions exactly can cause the parents to feel unnecessary remorse when they should be able to focus on their future bundle of joy. This can cause relationship or social strains between the couple and those that advocate the Pope's words.

Pregnancy is clearly a body practice. Unfortunately, culture, including the Pope's words that have a high level of influence as a result of his religious authority, has complicated it so much and subjected it to become a practice surrounded by judgments.

The picture above is from a recent article discussing the FDA considering allowing the morning after pill to be on drugstore shelves, making it available without a prescription as well as removing the age requirements. These recent discussions relate to this issue because the Pope would argue against this idea and continue to assert that this plan b should never even be necessary. It is another example of him ignoring the fact that everything cannot always go perfectly or that people do not need to all follow the same paths. People deserve to have options. Plans cannot always work out as intended, just as issues such as these cannot have a "one size fits all" solution.