A monthly column by the Billings Ovulation Method Association of Trinidad and Tobago (BOMA-TT).
BOMA-TT has hosted the “Is Love Forever?” seminar in several secondary schools and for youth/young adult groups across Trinidad. This seminar focuses on relationships and includes several aspects of healthy human sexuality that lead to happiness. In this month’s column we answer some of the questions young people have about relationships and human sexuality.
Q: Why is it a constant issue, the idea of contraception? Isn’t it the woman’s choice to exercise agency over her body?
A: A woman’s body is beautiful the way it was created by God. Women were made to love and for love, as were men. A woman’s fertility is a precious gift given to her by God. The Billings Ovulation Method® was developed to help women observe the changes in her reproductive health. A woman can identify her unique patterns of fertility and infertility using this Method. If a woman knew all four phases of her cycle, she would be able to detect abnormalities faster and see a doctor in time, before any illness of the reproductive system becomes really bad. Additionally, couples can plan when they would like to conceive or postpone having a child. Now if that is not “the woman’s choice to exercise agency over her body” then I don’t know what is. In the Natural Law, the purposes of sex are for bonding and, at the same time, it is also for procreation. A woman has the “choice to exercise agency over her body” and that choice really is to either engage in sexual intercourse and possibly end up pregnant, or not. Why? Because sex by its very nature is procreative.
Q: Isn’t Billings natural contraception?
A: To contra-cept is to go against (contra) the creation of new life (conception). Contraception is putting a barrier between the bonding aspect and the baby-making aspect of sex, in an attempt to exclude the baby-making aspect during the act of sexual intercourse. God never intended this for us. Years of experience with contracepting have left women feeling used by men (men objectifying women), have led to infidelity, divorces, not to mention the host of side-effects some women have to put up with if they insist their fertility is like a disease that needs to be gotten rid of. Instead of all this, with the Billings Ovulation Method®, couples can respect God’s order for sex and fertility. If the couple should not have children, due to some serious reason like health problems (mental or physical) or other serious reasons, or if the couple has just reasons, such as spacing their children by two years or more so that they can cope with raising a family well, then the Billings Ovulation Method® of Natural Fertility Regulation can come to the rescue. Couples simply allow the fertile time to pass before resuming sexual intercourse – this is not contracepting. This is using the God-given information about fertile and infertile times (provided by the woman’s body) to go along with God’s plan for that family. We encourage couples who use this Method to ask for God’s guidance in their family planning decisions. God wants us to be generous, yet He wants us to be responsible with the ability to procreate.
Q: What diseases can you get from kissing and touching?
A: The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is spread via skin-to-skin contact. From mid-thigh to mid-waist this virus may exist on the skin and can be transmitted by skin-to-skin contact via hand to genital or any skin-to-skin contact. Think about what happens during Carnival here…I wonder if this is linked to the high rates of HPV in this country? Deep kissing can transmit HIV, Herpes and Hepatitis B; if a person has any of these diseases and has any open cuts or sores in the mouth, they may be spread this way. Kissing and touching may be seen as simple ways to explore the other’s body, but sexual arousal belongs in marriage. Trying out these things is like starting a little fire, but you don’t know where that kerosene is that will not allow the fire to stop (when it ends up with sex). Try not to arouse each other before marriage. (To be continued next month.)
Contact BOMA-TT at 384-1659 and billingstt@gmail.com, or visit www.billingstt.webs.com
