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Prior to the 20th century, the three major branches of Christianity—Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism [1] (including leading Protestant reformers Martin Luther and John Calvin)—generally held a critical perspective of birth control (also known as contraception). [2] Among Christian denominations today, however, there is a ...
Protestant views on contraception are markedly more pluralistic than the doctrine expressed by the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, due to historical divergences of theological thought that began during the Protestant Reformation, including the rejection of an infallible doctrinal authority other than Scripture.
The biblical law of being "fruitful" and "multiplying" is viewed as one that applies only to men, and women have no commandment to have children. This is the reason why women are the ones to choose a form of contraception that they wish to use (i.e. spermicide, oral contraception, intrauterine device, etc.), while males don't. [46]
Nonetheless, Hindu women do not commonly use surrogacy as an option to treat infertility, despite often serving as surrogates for Western commissioning couples. [ 15 ] [ 14 ] When surrogacy is practiced by Hindus, it is more likely to be used within the family circle as opposed to involving anonymous donors.
The British Broadcasting Corporation writes, "When considering abortion, the Hindu way is to choose the action that will do least harm to all involved: the mother and father, the foetus and society." The BBC goes on to state, "In practice, however, abortion is practiced in India, because the religious ban on abortion is sometimes overruled by ...
In 1930, the Lambeth Conference issued a statement permitting birth control: "Where there is a clearly felt moral obligation to limit or avoid parenthood, complete abstinence is the primary and obvious method", but if there was morally sound reasoning for avoiding abstinence, "the Conference agrees that other methods may be used, provided that this is done in the light of Christian principles".
Under the first Christian Roman emperor Constantine, there was a relaxation of attitudes toward abortion and exposure of children. [149] Bakke writes, "Since an increasing number of Christian parents were poor and found it difficult to look after their children, the theologians were forced to take into account this situation and reflect anew on ...
References on the history of women in the early Christian Church. Brock, Sebastian and Harvey, Susan, trans. Holy Women of the Syrian Orient, updated edition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987. Brown, Peter. The Body and Society: Men, Women, and Sexual Renunciation in Early Christianity. New York: Columbia University Press, 1998.