Denver Catholic

JULY 30, 2014 I DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER 8 I LOVE & LIFE BY NISSA LAPOINT Birth control is the topic du jour for politicians. Rather than a personal matter be- tween couples and God, family planning is a topic among political officials gun- ning for votes this election season. Nationally, the Obama administration announced July 22 in a court filing it had plans to develop an opt-out for Catholic and religious nonprofit employers with conscience objections to providing em- ployees with contraceptives, as required by the federal Health and Human Services mandate. The "work-around" would be different from the accommodation set for such employers, according to reports. Earlier this month, U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., sponsored a bill that at- tempted to upend the Supreme Court's recent Hobby Lobby decision and pro- hibit employers from denying workers contraception coverage. The bill failed. The contraceptive talking point was used as political fire against rival U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, who lat- er wrote in a Denver Post column that Colorado should take the politics out of contraception, also adding, "women should be able to buy the pill without a prescription." The list of examples of politics joining contraception could go on. Helen Alvaré, law professor and co-founder of the initiative Women Speak for Themselves, said she predicts contraception to be the "political foot- ball" of the election year. Such political wrangling is an ex- ample of a shift in the framing of the contraceptive debate. Candidates are at- tempting to sell the belief that a vote for a candidate means access or no access to contraception. they are not preventing or obstructing a pregnancy," Keating said. "There is noth- ing that is separating the unitive and pro- creative aspects of their union." Natural family planning helps couples "to experience the unity and grace that comes from living out marriage the way God intends," Denver Archbishop Sam- uel Aquila said in an October interview with Family Foundations magazine. In the United States, "the typical di- vorce rate for contracepting couples is well over 50 percent," the archbishop said, adding that "for NFP couples, the divorce rate is sometimes cited to be as low as 4 percent." "God's plan for marriage is good for us body and soul," emphasized Keating. "It is a beautiful teaching based on love that is overflowing. What's more romantic than that?" The Glantzs: Learning to trust in God's will Newlyweds and parishioners at Sacred Heart of Mary Church in Boulder, Nich- olas Glantz, 27, a software engineer, and Andrea, 28, a homemaker, were married a year in May. "We had never heard of NFP until we looked at the diocesan requirements and are so fortunate that NFP instruc- tion is required of couples marrying in our archdiocese as it has been a huge blessing to us," said Andrea. While engaged, the couple took a class in the Sympto-Thermal Method of NFP, which relies on observations about changes in a woman's body as well as changes in body temperature during her cycle to determine the time when she is most fertile. They've practiced the method for a year. "Practicing NFP has been such a bless- ing to our relationship, our family and our spiritual lives," Andrea said. "NFP has al- lowed us to understand what it means to truly be open to new life and has been a tool in helping us to prayerfully discern God's will and plan for our lives." Prior to marrying, the couple had agreed they wanted a large family if that was God's will. They credit NFP with giv- ing them a way to express their willing- ness to receive the gift of children. "We spent a great deal of time pray- ing regarding the timing of children in our life and if we would be open to new life right away, as we found ourselves in a fertile window at the time of our wed- ding and decided that we were open and ready for the gift of a child," recalled An- drea. "Although we did not conceive at that time, having to trust in God's will from the very beginning of our mar- riage has had a powerful impact on our relationship." Within a few months, the couple did conceive a child. Their son, near- ly 3-month-old Anthony Michael, was born just two weeks before they marked their first wedding anniversary. "Our class and the practice of NFP have solidified for us what the Catholic Church teaches regarding sexual union in mar- riage and responsible parenthood," af- firmed Andrea. "We have formed such a strong bond and we believe that this can be attributed to both the amount of time we have spent in prayer as well as the in- creased openness to God's will for our lives and trust in his plan." McAdams: From the struggles of infertility to the joys of parenthood Married seven years and parents to 2-year-old Elizabeth, Brian McAdam, 36, and his wife Sarah, 35, have practiced the Creighton Model of NFP since their mar- riage, having taken a class while engaged. Brian works as director of forma- tion for the Fellowship of Catholic Uni- versity Students in Genesee. Mostly a stay-at-home mom, Sarah works part time for FOCUS. They attend Christ on the Mountain Church in Lakewood. "We wanted to have children as soon as possible after we got married, so we didn't anticipate using NFP to postpone preg- nancy," explained Sarah, "but, we're so glad we learned the Creighton Model and highly recommend it to everyone we know getting married because it has helped us in our struggle with infertility and in con- ceiving our daughter Elizabeth." By practicing the Creighton Model of NFP, which uses observations about changes in a woman's body during her PHOTO PROVIDED NICHOLAS and Andrea Glantz with their son Anthony Michael who was born May 2. NFP From Page 1 What's behind birth control politicking PHOTO BY PHONEY NICKLE/FLICKR THE PILL is one form of birth control that's become the center of debate this election cycle. Local and national public figures are speaking about the government's role in family planning methods.

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