Natural family planning fosters conjugal love and defense of women, says expert

Vatican City, Oct 13, 2009 / 13:58 pm

The expert Italian gynecologist Elena Giachhi said last Friday at the Synod for Africa that natural family planning through the Billings Method “fosters conjugal love, family unity, respect for women and generous openness to welcoming life.”

During her remarks at synod hall in Vatican City, Giachhi said that the simplicity of the Billings Method makes it accessible to all couples, “regardless of their educational level, religion or socioeconomic state,” whether they are Catholic, Muslim, Hindu or profess any other creed.

Giachhi, who belongs to the Center for the Study of Natural Family Planning at the Sacred Heart University of Rome, explained to the assembly that, “Couples can manage their fertility in a natural way, both for obtaining as well as for avoiding pregnancies in all the situations of fertile life.”

This method, she said, also contributes to “promoting the family and responsible procreation in a way that respects life, love and conjugal fidelity; promoting the dignity of women; preventing abortion, avoiding the use of artificial fertilization and helping couples with fertility issues to obtain pregnancy in a way that respects ethical values; preventing sexually transmitted diseases; teaching young people mature sexuality that encompasses the spiritual, bodily and psychological dimensions.”

The Billings Method, Giachhi said, “helps to spread human and Christian values, contributing to our pastoral commitment and to evangelization.”