BOOK REVIEW

Post Date: March 11, 2005

A Review of the Book
Open Embrace: A Protestant Couple Rethinks Contraception
by Sam and Bethany Torode

by Sarah J. Flashing, M.A.

Open Embrace: A Protestant Couple Rethinks Contraception is one couple’s theological appraisal of the use of contraceptives within the context of marriage. The Torodes’ objective is to promote Natural Family Planning (NFP) as the ideal method for managing family size, and as the sole replacement for current modes of contraception. In the short amount of space that this book takes up, Sam and Bethany Torode also examine the history of the church’s view of contraception and posit that the contemporary embrace of contraceptives is the result of an unfortunate marriage of church with culture.

 The foreword, written by J. Budziszewski, clarifies the overarching theological problem that guides the conclusions of this book. He says that “some husbands and wives try to sever the procreative dimension from the unitive” for which the marital union was designed. Budziszewski declares that the deliberate intention to avoid conception while having sex is a “collaboration in selfishness” (p. xiv). He says there is “no need to thwart the design, to artificially block fertility during a naturally fertile time. One only has to wait for a few days. If that is too difficult for us, something is wrong” (p. xvi). Budziszewski previous statement elsewhere that “Deliberate sterility insults the past and destroys the future; it makes us like the animals, who have neither history nor hope” clarifies his position further (First Things 88 [December 1998]: 17–29). The forward, as does the entire book, then begs the question as to whether or not NFP is a deliberate method of avoiding conception.

 The Torodes ground their views of contraception in their understanding of the image of God, stating that “sexuality reflects God’s likeness; from the very beginning man was a sexual being…and blessed with fertility” (p. 16). Appealing to the Trinity as a source for understanding the procreative nature of the marital bond, they view the creation mandate as a way of experiencing the love that exists within the godhead. In light of all this, their position is that if we properly view our spouse as an Image-bearer, then we will recognize that they are worthy of nothing less than selfless love. As a result, the marital embrace will be more than a mutual exchange of pleasure, it will also involve a mutual exchange of bodily fluids, thus permitting man and woman to experience the grace of God and become one flesh.

 After building their case against the use of contraceptives for the entire the first half of the book, the authors finally explain the nature of following NFP in chapter six. They state that with NFP “couples can identify the days per cycle…that a wife might become pregnant by monitoring up to three different fertility signs:  her body’s production of cervical fluid, her oral temperature upon waking, and the position of her cervix. These signs are recorded daily and tracked on a chart. The couple then decides whether to make love during the fertile days or to abstain until they have passed” (p. 45).

 NFP, as understood by the explanation provided by the Torodes, functions at least in part for the purpose of avoiding pregnancy. The basal thermometer is no less a barrier to conception than is a prophylactic or diaphragm.  Their response to this kind of argument does not settle the issue, however. Maintaining that NFP is not contraception in that it respects the feminine fertility cycle does not necessitate that NFP is not deliberate barrier to conception.

 The authors argue that the use of contraception violates God’s procreative intent for sex within marriage. For that reason, couples should only defer to using NFP, which, in their view, does not meet the criteria for being a form of contraception. They define contraception as “any process, device, or action whose purpose is to prevent the meeting of sperm and egg when a couple engages in intercourse. This includes things like condoms, diaphragms, and spermicidal jellies, as well as male and female sterilization” (p. 8). They state, “while sex is not solely for conception, it is not our place to deliberately separate sex from its procreative aspect” (p. 30). But to conclude that NFP does not meet this criterion for what constitutes a contraceptive is erroneous. By tracking physical signs such as body temperature and mucus texture, NFP accomplishes precisely that very separation of sex from procreation.

 The difficulty with this book is not the promotion of NFP or the authors’ concern with contraceptives that might function as abortifacients. Open Embrace is, in fact, a refreshing resource in its high view of the sacrament of marriage and the fact that it takes seriously the creation mandate of Genesis 1, reiterated again in Genesis 9. It also encourages communication between husband and wife that might not otherwise exist with the use of other forms of contraception because it is properly focused on understanding and respecting her fertility cycle. What this book does not provide is a strong case against the use of other forms of contraception that would not threaten the life of a fertilized egg. This book simply does not establish that NFP is functionally dissimilar to other barrier methods that are currently available, and by that account, the book fails its own purpose. CBHD

Sarah J. Flashing is the former Director of Public Relations and Communications for The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity.

Copyright 2005 by The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity. The contents of this article do not necessarily reflect the opinions of CBHD, its staff, board or supporters.  Permission to reprint granted as long as The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity and the web address for this article is referenced. Article originally appeared in Ethics & Medicine.