EM The_Rhythm_Method_an_Upbeat_Update The Rhythm Method An Upbeat Update
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L
A
CATHOLIC
PERSPECTIVE
ON
MORAL
ISSUES IN
THE
HEALTH
AND
LIFE
SCIENCES
The
Rhythm
Method:
an
Upbeat
Update
A
conviction
common
to
some
philosophers
and
sci-
entists
is
that
a
right
understanding
of
the
human
person
guarantees
wisdom
in
every
kind
of
intellectu-
al
pursuit,
whether
practical
or
theoretical.
It
is
par-
ticularly
fascinating
to
note
how
the
perspectives
and
conclusions
of
disciplines
as
divergent
as
science
and
philosophy
can
complement
one
another
in
their
attempts
.
to
understand
the
human
person.
Scientific
data
challenges
philosophers
to
expand
and
modify
their
anthropological
theories
while
holding
fast
to
principles;
authentic
philosophical
principles
provide
intelligent
guides
for
scientific
research
and
consti-
tute
the
criteria
against
which
its
work
can
be
ade-
quately
interpreted
and
evaluated.
Recent
research
and
development
in
a
method
of
natural
family
planning
is
an
example
of
how
good
philosophy
can
supplement
and
critique
a
specific
contribution
of
science.
In
the
space
provided
here,
we
will
first
describe
the
research
just
mentioned
and,
second,
assess
this
work
in
light
of
the
particular
philosophy
of
the
human
person
that
is
presupposed
in
the
teaching
of
Humanae
Vitae
.
'Rhythm
Without
.Blues'
Dr.
Carl
Djerassi,
internationally
known
chemist
and
one
of
the
original
contributors
to
the
chemical
development
of.
the
oral
contraceptive,
has
recently
turned
his
contraception
research
and
development
efforts
from
artificial
contraception
to
one
of
the
natu-
ral
family
planning
(NFP)
methods
(cf.,
"Fertility
Awareness:
Jet-Age
Rhythm?"
Science, 1
June
1990,
pp
.
1061-2).
Djerassi's
goal
was
two-fold: first,
to
change
the
NFP
from
an
unreliable
to
a
reliable
means
of
regulating
births
by
making
it
an
accurate
ovulation
indicator
and,
second,
to
change
it
from
a largely
unpopular
to
a
more
appealing
method
of
birth
regulation
by
reducing
by
half
the
number
of
days
of
required
absti-
nence
(from
17
to
8 days).
Formerly,
couples
using
the
rhythm
method
as
a
means
to
avoid
conception
calculated
the
time
of
ovu-
lation
(the
period
of
abstinence)
by
relying
either
on
the
text
book
28-day
cycle
with
ovulation
at
day
14
or
JULY,
1991
VOL.
16,
No.
7
on
the
rise
of
the
woman's
body
temperature.
Presently,
couples
using
the
sympto-thermal
method
of
NFP
rely
on
examination
of
cervical
mucus
and
on
daily
measurement
of
basal
body
temperature.
The
difficulty
of
relying
on
these
indicators
is
that
not
every
woman's
cycle
is
regular
and
her
body
tempera-
ture
may
rise
in
the
context
of
variables
like
tension,
sickness,
physical
exercise,
or
travel.
Consequently,
Djerassi
chose
to
analyze
and
chart
a
more
stable
ovulation
indicator,
namely,
the
rise
and
fall
of
female
hormones.
He
concluded
that
if
his
hormonal
research
were
the
basis
for a
hormonal
dipstick
test-
ing
system,
a
woman
would
be
able
to
track
the
rise
of
estradiol
(estrogen)
that
occurs
three
days
before
ovulation
and
the
rise
in
progesterone
that
occurs
in
the
post-ovulation
phase
of
her
cycle
(approximately
one
day
following
ovulation).
If
she
were
trying
to
avoid
a
conception,
she
would
be
able
to
identify
the
two
hormonal
markers
that
outline
the
beginning
and
end
of
the
required
period
of
abstinence.
Based
on
Djerassi's
research,
a
diagnostic
company
has
already
developed
a
home
urine
test
that,
employing
recombinant
monoclonal
antibodies,
can
identify
the
"green
light"
rise
of
progesterone
(the
end
of
the
fertile period),
and
it
is
predicted
that
the
avail-
ability
of
a
test
to
measure
the
corresponding
"red
light"
rise
of
estrogen
(the
beginning
of
the
fertile
peri-
od)
is
just
a
matter
of
time.
These
home
tests
could
be
used
not
only
by
couples
who
want
to
avoid a
concep-
tion
through
a
natural
method
but
also
by
those
who,
desiring
a
child,
want
to
know
the
optimal
time
for
conceiving.
(continued
on
page
2)
IN
THIS
ISSUE
The
Rhythm
Method:
an
Upbeat Update
Improved
method
of
determining
ovulation
time
Futility
and
the
PVS
Patient
Medical futility
as
a
non-moral
assessment
(continued
from
page
1)
A
Critique
The
remainder
of
this
article
will
attempt
to
show
how
Djerassi's
contribution
could
be
appreciated
when
judged
in
light
of
sound
philosophical
princi-
ples.
Since
Humanae
Vitae
teaches
that
there
is
an
anthropological
and
moral
difference
between
regulat-
ing
births
by
means
of
artificial
contraception
and
doing
so
by
having
recourse
to
infertile
periods
and
periodic
abstinence,
examining
the
philosophy
of
the
human
person
that
leads
to
that
conclusion
would,
at
the
same
time,
demonstrate
whether
Djerassi's
work
is
good
science
in
the
sense
defined
at
the
outset.
Vision
of
the
Human
Person
in
Humanae
Vitae
Body/Soul
Unity:
The
human
person
is
a
body/soul
unity;
the
person
is bodily
and
the
body
is
personal.
Understanding
this
truth
has
profound
implications
for
the
nature
of
human
activity-
everything
one
does
in
the
body
has
a
personal
dimension,
and
everything
one
calls
a
personal
act
is
accomplished
in
and
through
the
body.
In
reference
to
our
creation
as
male-persons
and
female-persons,
it
also
follows
that
sexuality
is
not
just
a
matter
of
biology
or
of
the
use
of
physical
organs.
Human
sexuality
is
not
a
thing
outside
of
the
person
or
apart
from
the
"I";
it
is
a
biophysiological
capacity
that
is
wedded
to
the
person.
The
two-
dimensional
unity
of
the
human
person
and
human
sexuality
in
general
characterizes
a fertile
act
of
mari-
tal
intercourse
in
particular.
It
is
an
act
that,
while
symbolizing
the
reciprocal
gift
of
self
(the
personal,
spiritual
meaning).
at
the
same
time
capacitates
the
husband
and
wife
to
share
that
love
beyond
them-
selves
by
creating,
with
God, a
new
life
(the
biological,
bodily
meaning).
The
truth
of
the
conjugal
act
is
upheld
when
those
engaging
in
it
respect
its
constitu-
tive
dimensions.
Vocation
to
love:
Embedded
in
each
human
being
is
his
vocation
to
love like God loves.
The
human
per-
son,
created
in
the
Divine
image,
is
called
to
be
an
icon
of
God,
to
reenact
the
complete
Divine self-gifting
that
loved
each
created
person
into
existence
and
res-
cued
him
from
the
forces
that
destroy
love
and
life.
Although
complete
in
Himself, God,
in
a
perfect
act
of
gratuity,
"stepped
outside"
the
interpersonal
love-
communion
of
the
Trinity
and
shared
Himself.
The
result;
A Divine
act
of
love
spilled
over
into
life:
the
material
created
world
with
the
human
person
as
its
crowning
glory.
But
Divine love
did
not
stop
there,
for,
in
order
to
restore
life
to
a
world
fractured
by
man's
sin
and
selfishness,
a
second
act
of
creative
love,
equally
gratuitous,
became
enfleshed
in
the
person
of
His
Son.
The
human
vocation
to
love,
then,
comes
with
this
imperative;
Love
in
such
a
way
that
others
can
learn
how
God's
love
brought
life
to
His
people
and
how
Jesus'
love
brought
life
to
His
Church.
It
is
to
this
Divine
tradition
of
total,
faithful,
and
fruitful
love
that
every
husband
and
wife
is
heir.
Steward
Over
Creation:
Genesis
teaches
that
the
human
person
is
entrusted
with
creation,
invited
to
bring
the
world
and
himself
to
fulfillment.
Stewardship
implies
a
relationship
of
entrustment
between
an
owner
who
is
also
a
master
and
a
manag-
er;
being
a
faithful
steward,
therefore,
involves
first
and
foremost
identifying
the
master's
plan
so
thor-
oughly
that
one's
stewardship
faithfully
advances
the
master's
goals.
In
regard
to
the
human
person's
stew-
ardship
over
himself,
God
the
master
Creator
has,
first.
written
that
plan
on
the
human
heart
by
making
it
the
very
law
of
human
nature
and,
second,
con-
firmed
it
by
Divine
Revelation.
Whether
from
a
per-
spective
of
reason
or
faith,
human
stewardship
over
self
(including
sexuality)
is
never
a
question
of
arbi-
trarily
compiling
one's
own
agenda
for
human
happi-
ness;
it
must
always
be
a
matter
of
discovering,
respecting,
and
cooperating
with
the
Divine
agenda
whose
outlines
are
indelibly
inscribed
within
each
person's
being.
Personally
Related
to God:
The
human
person
has
his
beginning
in
God
and
his
end
or
fulfillment
in
Him.
It
is
one's
Divine
origin
and
destiny,
one's
origi-
nal
and
final
relationship
to
God,
that
enlightens
the
meaning
and
value
of
everything
between
birth
and
death.
At
the
final
judgment,
we
will
enjoy
unending
life
with
God
if
God
recognizes
some
measure
of
the
image
of
His
Son
in
us.
We
will
have
grown
into
that
Image
to
the
extent
we
have
become
good
while
on
earth.
Entrusted
with
Divine
authority,
the
magisterium
of
the
Catholic
Church
is
the
guardian
and
defender
of
the
truth
and
is
charged
with
teaching
that
truth
in
the
area
of
faith
and
morals.
Through
her
moral
teachings,
the
Church
explicates
the
Divine
plan
for
human
fulfillment
and
guarantees
that
those
who
obey
it
will
be
living
in
truth
and
embracing
good.
Because
the
Church's
teachings
reveal
the
demands
of
objective
truth,
each
person
can
form
his
con-
science
in
accord
with
it.
Appeal
to
an
upright
con-
science,
then,
will
help
a
couple
discover
the
personal
language
that
they
speak
in
the
intimacy
of
the
conju-
gal
act
and
their
corresponding
moral
responsibility
to
speak
this
language
truthfully.
Cocreator
of
Human
Life:
Each
of
us
comes
into
being
by
a Divine
act
of
creative
love.
One's
ensoul-
ment
was
not
a
result
of
chance
or
necessity
but
the
result
of
an
act
of
Divine
gratuity.
It
follows,
then,
that
when
a
husband
and
wife
participate
in
a fertile
act
of
marital
intercourse,
they
are
involved
in
an
event
which
is
primarily
God's
domain.
In
every
such
act,
·
the
couple
is
faced
with
a
correlative
decision
:
To
admit
that
God
is
the
author
of
every
human
life
or
to
insist
that
human
life
is
only
of
human
origin
and
able
to
be
blocked
at
will.
The
dynamics
of
the
fertile
(continued
on
page
3)
Ethics
and
Medics
is a
publication
of
the
Pope
John
Center
and
is
sent
to
its
Subscribing
Members,
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annual
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issues).
For
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information,
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write:
The
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John
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Mass.
02184:
Telephone
(617)
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848-
6965/Editor:
the
Rev.
AlbertS.
Moraczewski,
O.P
..
Ph.D
..
Publisher:
the
Rev. Msgr. Roy
M.
Kllster./Contents
copyright
©
1991
by
the
Pope
John
XXIII
Medical/Moral
Research
and
Education
Center.
All
rights
reserved.
2
( )
'-·-
0
0
·
(continued
from
page
2)
act
of
marital
intercourse,
then
,
is
momentous-
seri-
ous
matter-
because
it
strikes
at
God's
creation
at
the
level
of
the
deepest
interaction
between
Creator
and
cocreator.
Conclusion
Prescinding
from
any
subjective
motives
for
which
Djerassi
might
have
undertaken
his
work,
the
sound
anthropological
principles
of
Humanae
Vitae
confirm
that
work
like
his
is, objectively
speaking,
good
sci-
ence
.
It
respects
the
full
truth
of
the
human
person.
It
provides
couples
not
only
with
a
dependable
method
of
regulating
births
but
also
with
a
moral
means
of
fulfilling
the
mandate
o
f-
responsible
parenthood.
Any
couple
using
the
rhythm
method
as
a
means
to
post-
pone
a
pregnancy
for grave
reasons
utilizes
the
God-
given
natural
rhythms
of
their
fertility
cycle.
They
abstain
from
sex
during
their
fertile
period
and
avoid,
thereby,
the
deliberate
destruction
of
the
procreative
good
of
a fertile
conjugal
act,
and
they
foster
the
uni-
tive
dimension
of
marriage
by
engaging
in
sex
during
their
infertile
periods.
Ultimately,
then
,
the
value
of
scientific
research
such
as
Djerassi's
is
determined
by
what
it
makes
possible.
The
moral
use
of
a
natural
method
of
birth
regulation
defends
the
ca
use
of
God,
affirming
God's
glory
manifested
in
the
marital
exchange
between
husband
and
wife
in
their
openness
to
life.
and
it
defends
the
cause
of
the
human
person
promoting
the
dignity
of
the
spouses
who
are
fulfilled
in
their
total
reciprocal
gift
of
self
.
Sr.
Renee
Mirkes. OSF.
MA
Pope
John
Center
Consultant
Waukesha,
WI
"Futility"
and
the
PVS
Patient
The
use
of
futility
as
a
criterion
for
deciding
whether
to
forgo
or
withdraw
artificially
provided
nutrition
and
hydration
to
patients
in
the
persistent
vegetative
state
(PVS)
has
gained
increasing
attention
by
physicians
and
ethicists,
but
not
without
some
confusion
.
The
judgment
that
artificially
provided
nutrition
and
hydration
is
futile
treatment
or
care
in
the
case
of
the
PVS
patient
is
often
regarded
as
a
moral
judgment
about
the
presence
or
absence
of
the
moral
obligation
to
preserve
life.
This
analysis
attempts
to
show
two
things:
( 1)
that
the
judgment
of
futility
in
itself
is
not
a
moral
judgment,
and
(2)
that
only
after
the
futility
(or
usefulness)
of
artificially
provided
nutrition
and
hydration
to
the
PVS
patient
are
determined
should
those
means
be
judged
morally
optional
or
obligatory.
Categories
of
Futility
Futility
is
recognized
as
a valid
criterion
for forgoing
or
withdrawing
the
artificial
provision
of
nutrition
and
hydration
in
different
ways
by
those
holding
different
positions
on
the
issue.
Three
categories
of
futility
are
identifiable
in
the
recent
literature
on
the
subject
.
One
type
of
futility
has
been
described
as
"futility
in
the
strict
sense"-
that
which
is
completely
ineffective
towards
ameliorating
the
pathological
condition
of
the
patient.
It
signifies
the
impossibility
of
achieving
any
physiological
benefit
for
the
patient
. A
second
type
of
futility
might
be
considered
a corollary
of
the
first.
It
could
be
characterized
as
"medical
futility."
In
this
category
the
treatment
employed
gives
the
patient
some
amount
of
physiological
benefit
but
still offers
no
probability
of
amelioration
or
cure
of
the
pathologi-
cal
condition.
This
category
is
derived
specifically
from
the
claim
that
artificially
provided
nutrition
and
hydration
is
a
medical
treatment.
The
argument
is
made
that
if
the
provision
is
a
medical
treatment,
then
the
same
criteria
for
withholding
or
withdr
a
wing
of
other
futile
medical
treatment
applies
to it. A
third
sort
of
futility
is
referred
to
as
"futility
in
the
broad
sense."
It
signifies
a
futility
in
which
the
patient
receives
a
physiological
benefit
which
is
insignificant
in
comparison
to
the
burdens
resulting
from
the
care
or
treatment.
The
Meaning
of
Futility
The
judgment
of
futility is
actually
a
judgment
about
the
suitability
of
means
for
the
fulfillment
of
the
e
nd
originally
intended.
(Se e
St.
Thomas
Aquinas.
Summa
Theologica
,
HI
, 11 , 2, c
.;
ibid.,
1,
ad
3m
.) As
such,
it
is
not
a
judgment
about
the
moral
suitability
of
the
means
in
relation
to
the
end.
The
moral
suit-
ability
of
the
means
must
be
judged
by
a
separat
e a
ct
and
according
to
independent
moral
principles.
Given
this
distinction,
it
may
be
argued
that
th
e
concept
of
futility
is
not
in
and
of
itself
a
moral
criteri-
on.
It
is
incorrect
to
treat
futility
as
being
in
itself
a
moral
criterion
for
judging
what
ought
to
be
done
when
in
fact
it
represents
simply
an
intellectual
assessment
about
wh
e
ther
some
means
has
or
is
ful-
filling
an
end.
Thus
, for
the
PVS
case,
the
futility
of
life-sustaining
measures
ought
not
refer
to
a
moral
judgment
as
such
but
to
a
morally
neutral
act
wh
ere-
(continued
on
page
4)
3
