New York City, N.Y., Jun 30, 2010 / 23:02 pm
Patrick McCrystal, an Irish pharmacist and pro-life leader, has authored a book on the effect contraception has on marriages and on society as a whole. He calls contraception “a most potent destroyer of marital harmony,” urging couples to re-center their marriages upon Jesus Christ.
This week he is in New York City for the launch of his second book, “Who’s at the Centre of Your Marriage: The Pill or Jesus Christ?”
The contraceptive pill marked its 50th anniversary this year, provoking a variety of reactions. Time Magazine celebrated the creation of “the first medicine ever designed to be taken regularly by people who were not sick.”
However, movie star Raquel Welch published a commentary in the Daily Mail blaming the Pill for the decline of marriage, which she called “the cornerstone of civilization” that stabilizes society and provides a “sanctuary” for children.
“Most would be surprised to see me and Raquel Welch lining up on the same side of a debate, but she makes some very smart and accurate points in her column," McCrystal commented. "While her diagnosis is correct, my book goes a step further to offer the prescription that can help heal ailing couples: re-centering their marriage on Christ."
McCrystal stopped dispensing the contraceptive pill in 1993 because of its abortion-causing effects. Because of this, he lost his job and was unemployed for three years.
He has since spent thousands of hours in research, writing and speaking internationally on contraception and related issues.
Presently the chairman of Human Life International’s Ireland office, he resides in Northern Ireland with his wife Therese. He is a father of five children.
On Friday the writer will be joined in New York by Tony and Ann Crowe, a young Irish couple who will explain how contraception almost destroyed their marriage.