CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- A Catholic author believes that the \u201csurprisingly positive\u201d reception of her book on the sexual revolution shows an encouraging openness to reconsider cultural assumptions about artificial contraception.
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\n\t\u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s anything anybody would have ever predicted,\u201d said Mary Eberstadt, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n\tIn a Feb. 11 talk at the Archdiocese of Denver, Eberstadt discussed the findings of her recent book, \u201cAdam and Eve after the Pill: Paradoxes of the Sexual Revolution,\u201d which was released last April.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\tShe said that the book has enjoyed a broad outreach and been well-received, which she attributes to changing attitudes and a willingness to reconsider the empirical evidence associated with the birth control pill.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI think there\u2019s a lot of dialogue on that street,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n
\tFollowing the talk, Eberstadt told CNA that the positive reviews of her book in many Christian publications is a \u201creally encouraging sign\u201d that people might be starting to re-examine the perceived benefits of artificial contraception.<\/p>\n
\tYears ago, while researching \u201cHumanae Vitae,\u201d Pope Paul VI\u2019s encyclical reiterating the Church\u2019s teaching against artificial contraception, Eberstadt was amazed to find that the 1968 document had accurately predicted a wave of troubling social effects that would accompany the widespread use of birth control.<\/p>\n
\tThese forecasts included a \u201clessening of respect for women by men, a tendency for coercive governments to use the new contraceptive technologies coercively, more broken homes and a generalized rise in romantic problems between the sexes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tEberstadt compiled non-religious evidence from medical journals, pop culture and secular society to show that while the encyclical may be the \u201cmost heavily mocked and reviled global document of the last half century,\u201d it was correct in its predictions.<\/p>\n
\tDespite the impact contraception and the sexual revolution have had on society, Eberstadt said, \u201cI definitely think there are signs of change.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tMany young Catholics, she noted, have shown a great deal of enthusiasm towards the teachings of \u201cHumanae Vitae.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI think it\u2019s amazing how effective renewal movements within the Catholic Church are among people in their twenties,\u201d she observed.<\/p>\n
\tAdmittedly, she said, some people may never read her book simply because it was released by a Catholic publisher.<\/p>\n
\tHowever, given that the book is based on scientific facts rather than theology, she hopes \u201cthat as people come across it \u2013 whether it\u2019s put out by a Catholic publisher or not \u2013 they respond to that marshaling of empirical evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tIn her talk, Eberstadt challenged the \u201cmyths\u201d that the sexual revolution is permanent and has made women happier, pointing to evidence within the realm of social science to refute these claims.<\/p>\n
\tShe also rejected the idea that Catholics are the only group that has opposed contraception, noting that the majority of Christian denominations also prohibited its use for most of their history, along with many other religious and social groups.<\/p>\n
\tFurthermore, she observed, the sexual revolution and widespread acceptance of contraception have had some unforeseen consequences, such as the push to redefine marriage to include gay couples.<\/p>\n
\tWhen the Anglican Church declared at the 1930 Lamberth Conference that contraception was acceptable in certain circumstances, Eberstadt said, it opened an unprecedented door normalizing sterilized sex between heterosexual couples, later leading to the sexual revolution, which has \u201cmade it hard to draw lines of any kind\u201d regarding sexuality.<\/p>\n
\tCurrent efforts to recognize same-sex marriage are simply part of the \u201cclear logical chain\u201d that started with artificial birth control, she explained.<\/p>\n
\tThis logic can eventually lead to arguments in favor of polygamy and bestiality, she said, arguing that such acts are ultimately \u201cfootnotes\u201d to the societal acceptance of contraception.<\/p>\n
\tEberstadt encouraged her audience to fight this ongoing trend by presenting the scientific evidence that is often ignored in discussions on contraception.<\/p>\n
\tCatholics need to start \u201cplaying offense, not defense, in the public square,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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