The Pill Kills Marriages

Marriage and conjugal love are ordered by nature and by God toward two ends:

1. Procreation and the nurturing and education of children.7

2. Strengthening the loving bond between the spouses, creating society’s most important
community, the family, in which to raise children.7

The pill has as its goal rendering intercourse sterile or, alternatively, making it impossible for the
newly created child to live. Its chemical composition has a profound negative impact on the
bonding and relationship of the couple as well. Thus, the use of the pill strips marriage of its
meaning and purpose.

The Pill and Procreation

Let’s examine first how the pill negatively impacts procreation.

Oral contraceptives work by three modes of operation:

1. They suppress ovulation.5,6

2. They thicken cervical mucous, making it difficult for the sperm to travel through it.5,6
3. They may cause early abortions since the pill prevents the lining of the uterus from
being sufficiently prepared for a newly created child to implant, should ovulation
occur.5,6

The pill is intended to divorce the possibility of procreation from intercourse, thus rendering the
natural operation of a healthy reproductive system and the marriage itself dysfunctional.

The Pill and Bonding Between the Spouses

While many people are aware of the actions of the pill in attempting to render intercourse sterile
and acting as a possible abortifacient if ovulation and fertilization do occur, most are not so
familiar with the profound negative impact the chemical composition of the pill has on bonding
of the spouses.

1. A recent study shows that the hormones contained in the pill may cause a woman to
choose a mate with whom she is incompatible. A study published in the Proceedings of
the Royal Society B in August of 2008, suggests that women on the pill undergo a shift in
preference toward men who share similar MHC genes, while women who are not under
the influence of hormonal birth control choose men with dissimilar genes, thus setting
them up for relationship catastrophes when they stop taking the pill. Immune genes may
have a “powerful effect in terms of how well relationships are cemented,” says University
of Liverpool psychologist Craig Roberts, who co-authored an August research paper that
arrived at the same conclusion.1,3
2. Similarly, women who begin taking the pill after they are married may find that
they become disinterested in the spouse they have chosen, preferring a man, instead,
with similar MGC genes.1,3
3. Loss of libido. One of the very common reasons women become disinterested in their
husbands and vice versa is that the pill can cause a loss of libido. One of the mechanisms
responsible for loss of libido in women on the pill is a rise in the sex hormone binding
globulin (SHBG). It combines with the woman’s naturally occurring testosterone,
reducing her interest in sex.4,5,6
4. Loss of Respect. Sterile intercourse created by the pill leads to women becoming mere
objects of sexual gratification for men.7
5. A host of health-related side effects from the pill can negatively impact the relationship
between spouses. Among those are:
o Migraine4,5,6
o Headache4,5,6
o Dizziness5,6
o Loss of scalp hair5,6
o Acne4,5,6
o Hypertension (high blood pressure)5,6
o Mental depression4,5,6
o Nervousness5,6
o Edema (increased fluid and subsequent pressure within an organ)5,6
o Change in weight (increase or decrease)5,6
o Rash (allergic reaction)5,6
o Pre-menstrual syndrome5,6
o Hirsutism (excessive hair growth in places where hair normally is minimal or
absent)5,6
o Erythema multiforme (allergic reaction)5,6
o Erythema nodosum (skin inflammation)5,6
o Porphyria (disease that can manifest itself as anything from acute mania,
including hallucinations, to constipation and skin rashes)4,5,6
o Bone loss2
o Cancer (breast, uterine and vaginal)4
o Gallbladder disease (bile duct stones)4,5,6
o Hepatic adenomas or benign liver tumors5,6
o Nausea5,6
o Vomiting5,6
o Gastrointestinal symptoms (such as abdominal cramps and bloating)5,6
o Cholestatic jaundice (jaundice caused by thickened bile)4,5,6
o Impaired renal function (impaired kidney function)5,6
o Colitis (digestive disease characterized by inflammation of the colon)5,6
o Hemolytic uremic syndrome (kidney failure and low platelet count in the
blood)5,6
o Cystitis-like syndrome (frequent urination, sometimes with a painful bladder)5,6
o Vaginitis (inflammation of the vaginal area, often associated with irritation,
itching or infection)4,5,6
o Increased risk of sexually transmitted diseases4
 o Cancer (breast, uterine and vaginal)4
o Endometriosis4

Thus, even if one ignores the spiritual consequences that arise when oral contraceptives are
introduced into marriage, the chemical repercussions of the pill can have a devastating, even
lethal impact on marriage.

References:

1. Wenner, Melinda, Birth Control Pills Affect Womens’ Taste in Men. Scientific
American, Dec. 5, 2008. Accessed March 21, 2011.
2. Tang, O.S., et al., "Long-term depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate and bone mineral
density," Contraception 59 (1999): 351-355.
3. American Life League (2008). Pill Goggles [Video] Retrieved March 21, 2011.
4. Kuhar, Bogomir M., PharmD, FASCP, Infant Homicides through Contraceptives, 5th ed.
(Bardstown, KY: Eternal Life, 2003).
5. Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., patient package insert: "Ortho Tri-Cyclen/Ortho-
Cyclen Tablets (norgestimate/ethinyl estradiol)," (Manati, Puerto Rico: Janssen Ortho,
LLC, June 2010), (accessed March 21, 2011).
6. Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., patient package insert: "Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo
Tablets," (Raritan, New Jersey: Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., August 2008),
(accessed March 21, 2011).
7. Pope Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Humanae Vitae, Vatican: The Holy See, July 25, 1968,
(accessed March 21, 2011