A series of television and radio advertisements scheduled to begin airing in Milwaukee in early December feature several women saying they are Catholic and use emergency contraception, and that other Catholic women should too.
“Good Catholics can use EC,” one woman says in the ad. Another two women say, “You can reduce your risk of pregnancy. Have emergency contraception, EC, just in case you need it.”
Young Catholics for Choice, one of the groups producing the ads, is spreading this message despite the fact that Church doctrine and hierarchy have been known to prohibit birth control except in extreme situations like sexual assault.
Young Catholics for Choice is a program run by Catholics for Choice, an abortion rights organization made up of Catholics and non-Catholics. The group is producing the ads in partnership with Family Planning Health Services, a nonprofit organization that provides sexual and nutritional information to clients, including the names and locations of places to get an abortion.
Marissa Valeri, coordinator for Young Catholics for Choice, said she could not disclose the number of individuals in the organization. She said she does not believe the ad is in conflict with the church’s teachings, citing Directive 36 of the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
This directive, according to the USCCB Web site, states that women who have been sexually assaulted may be treated with medications that would prevent ovulation, sperm capacitation or fertilization in an attempt to defend against potential conception. The directive stipulates that the victims must not have conceived before receiving the contraceptive treatment, and that no action may be taken to destroy or interfere with the implementation of a fertilized ovum.
Young Catholics for Choice and FPHS advocate the use of the Plan B pill, an extra-strength birth control pill that can be used to terminate a potential pregnancy up to three days after sex. Pro-Life Wisconsin classifies the pill as a chemical abortion.
Virginia Zignego, the communications director of Pro-Life Wisconsin and a Catholic, said Cathlolics for Choice and FPHS distort the meaning of Directive 36 to justify their stance. She also said that by teaming with FPHS, Young Catholics for Choice is trying to normalize the idea that Catholics are in disagreement on the issue.
“Many other Catholics and I accept and support the church’s teachings on contraception, and the Young Catholics for Choice are slapping the label of Catholic on something that is not,” Zignego said.
Pro-Life Wisconsin also claims Young Catholics for Choice fail to acknowledge FDA warnings against using the Plan B pill frequently, which can result in negative health effects such as blood clots.
When asked about the group on Fox 6 News, Archbishop-designate of Milwaukee Jerome Listecki said, “If choice denies the life of a fetus, then it’s not really a choice, the fetus has been denied a choice.”
He also said a Catholic “embracing a position of choice denies an inherent aspect (of Catholicism) and that inherent aspect is the dignity of that human individual right from the very moment of conception, and that strikes at odds with the church’s teachings.”