MondayMorningInsight - Leadership & Encouragement for Church Leaders

Baptist Pastor at Southwestern Says Use of Birth Control Pills is Murder

Posted by: Todd
Posted on: Tue, October 28, 2008
Viewed 207
(24) comments so far

“Some of you are involved in that exact same sin,” Dr. White said.

Oh my.

What do you think?

WFAA.com is reporting: "A Southern Baptist leader and teacher has a message for women: Taking birth control pills is "murder" and a "sin." The opinion of Dr. Thomas White is reverberating around Baptist circles. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth shapes the Baptist pastors of tomorrow, determining the future of the church. That's why Dr. White's sermon earlier this month is getting so much attention. Dr. White is a mentor at the seminary, charged with helping future pastors make the right decisions. But earlier this month, a repentant Dr. White addressed those students.

He confessed that he and his wife had employed birth control pill years earlier. "The reason that we did it was my own selfishness," he said. "I wanted kids, but I wanted kids — not in God's timing, but in my timing." Dr. White now condemns the use of birth control pills, saying, "It's murder of a life." Dr. White condemns the practice because although the pill is supposed to work by preventing the release of an egg, it can also prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterine wall...

Comments

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Brian L. on Tue, October 28, 2008

Hey Shane, we’re foster parents, so we see the pain caused by the bad choices of the parents. We were hoping to adopt one of our foster children, but a relative stepped up and got to do so. Maybe in the future!

I think you and I would agree that the issue goes far beyond contraception. It goes to helping people see what actually causes babies - and it ain’t the water!

Tying in with the “have all the babies God gives you,” I wonder how these folks react when teens get pregnant. Was that God giving the baby to the teen? I think it was the God-ordained function of the human body - act out the reproductive function, you’re going to get babies. Pretty simple.

This is why I disagree with those who feel that pregnancy and birth are “miracles” as they are so often termed. A miracle is God’s supernatural moving to either suspend or nullify one of the natural process He has put into place. Pregnancy is a natural process, not a miracle. A virgin pregnancy (Mary, for example) is a miracle. A pregnancy in an old, barren woman (Sarah) is a miracle. There can and are miracles associated with particular pregnancies - such as keeping a child from birth defects, protecting a baby when the mother has been assaulted or abused her own body, etc.

The base issue we’re discussing here is how to help people make choices that keep pregnancy from happening.

Sorry for the long-winded response!

BTW, adoption is pretty much free for those who choose to be licensed foster parents, and what expenses they do incur can sometimes be reimbursed by the state. And with so many kids in the foster care system, I agree with you Shane, that the Church needs to get on the stick to help these children find loving, Christian families who will display the love of Jesus to a child who feels ignored, neglected, and rejected by the ones who should love them the most.
Melody on Tue, October 28, 2008

Among the things that make me stop and go, “hmmmm” is that the same individuals who denounce birth control pills on hypotheticals instead of legitimate medical research will also endorse variations of the rhythm method in spite of the clear Biblical teaching that intimate marital relations are to be withheld only for short durations for the purpose of prayer and fasting.

Since my oldest child was conceived over 26 years ago while using the pill , based on anecdotal evidence, I don’t accept that the pill at normal prescribed dosage is an abortifacant.
Joe Schmoe on Wed, October 29, 2008

an IUD is an abortifacient, and i have several friends that had several babies each using IUD’s….

just because you had a baby with the pill doesn’t justify it. you were blessed.

as for the “as many babies as you want”…

I have four, and my wife was getting sick after each pregnancy (thyroid problems)…

i felt it would be best to get my vasectomy.

did it limit God? maybe… but i prayed about it, and felt a peace about it….

i don’t think the rhythm method is a violation of the “except for prayer and fasting” come on.. that’s awfully literal… do you have sex everyday? with the rhythm, your abstaining maybe three to five days… which is what about the normal frequency anyway. and what if you just fasted and prayed during that time? there ya go. problem solved….. and most of us that are denouncing “the pill” are not denouncing all birth control… i used a condom for years, despite some people saying I was committing “the sin of Onan”… and i got a vasectomy, which is pretty much the same thing…. we’re speaking against the pill, because the research that’s out there does NOT say whether orthotricyclene functions as an abortifacient….
Lori on Mon, November 03, 2008

Before I comment I would like to give a few of my credentials. I was a Director for a Care-Net Pregnancy Center in New Mexico. I oversaw the day to day operations, training of volunteers, and saw clients. I am also a mother of seven children. The first was a “crisis pregnancy” when I was 17. Six of my children are living and one died in utero at 11 weeks. I have also written numerous papers on abortion, its effects, as well as abstinence education for our teens.There are few who could call themselves more passionate about the unborn than myself.

There are two types of pills. One has a single hormone and these pills only prevent implantation but do not prevent ovulation. It is usually only prescribe to nursing mothers to prevent pregnancy. To this type of pill, the above argument can be made. The second is the most common form of BCP and it has both estrogen and progesterone. These pills prevent ovulation as well maintain a regular cycle. The argument here is the POTENTIAL of breakthrough ovulation and failure to implant. While the pill can make the uterine lining less favorable for implantation, it is does not necessarily always make it so. In fact, this situation is less likely to happen than an early miscarriage by a non-BCP user. Secondly, many things in a woman’s life can make the uterine lining unfavorable, such as over the counter medicines, alcohol, hormonal imbalance, vigorous excercise etc. In these cases a fertilized egg in a non-BCP user would also not implant and would result in an early miscarriage. The woman would most likely not even know she had a fertilized egg and would have her normal cycle.

So then the argument is do we condemn all activity that could POTENTIALLY harm a fertilized egg that was not planned? Of course not. But when it comes to BCPs there are many who unilaterally condemn their use. Many women, such as myself, have hormonal imbalances, that render the rhythm method useless. I do not use BCPs because of these imbalances. While the follow on article states in an email Dr. White does not condemn other forms of birth control, he did not make this clear in the message. In fact, his comment about wanting kids but not in God’s timing would lead one to conclude he is against all forms of birth control.

Sometimes pregnancy is the consequence of reckless behavior. I lost a good friend who subscribed to the theory that all BC is living outside of God’s will. She paid with her life for this belief when her uterus ruptured on her 8th baby. The baby also died. To tell women that using BCPs is a sin is also reckless and hurtful. I also think that with all the information out there, that a sermon was no place to have this discussion. It is too complicated of a science matter to have in a 30 minute sermon.

One last note. Even the National Right to Life organization, the largest Pro-Life organization in the US, takes no stand on birth control.
Trent on Mon, November 03, 2008

One of the potential futures seen by some liberals is where because of the chance that the pill may cause the loss of a fertilised egg; that the pill and some other forms of birth control may be outlawed by an imbalanced conservative judiciary.

The discussion here, and the original sermon itself, lend credence to these fears. If there were ever a constitutional amendment which stated that life began at conception, then forms of BC which prevent implantation would constitute murder. If life was defined as beginning at implantation, then all forms of stem-cell research would be permissable. Neither definition of the beginning of life match biblical accounts though. Very complicated - definately above my pay grade.
Stevens johnson syndrome on Wed, December 03, 2008

I didn’t get how can it be termed as a murder before the actual beginning of creation of a babie’s life.
Computers Software on Mon, January 05, 2009

This is strange. My request includes the word eggs, but I was expecting receipt of other information.

But okay, we will read it.
Alesse Birth Control on Sat, February 28, 2009

The pill can not be considered murder. We live in the modern world. Therefore, mortality and fertility must be controlled. All the more so in underdeveloped countries.
HGH on Sun, August 30, 2009

Thanks for the wonderful information- just wondering if anyone else has had any relevant experiences to share