Amy writes:

Doesn't artificial birth control contradict natural law?

Thanks for your question, Amy. The Church properly teaches that the Natural Law is accessible to human reason. The Church's teaching on birth control, however, such as in Humanae Vitae and such as articulated in the minority report of the papal birth control commission, dwells mostly on issues of tradition and authority when giving its most substantive defense of its position and doesn't give depthful or substantive reasons to defend its apodictic statements about the natural law.

In fact, the Minority Theologians of the Papal Birth Control Commission wrote, in their report: "If we could bring forth arguments which are clear and cogent based on reason alone, it would not be necessary for our commission to exist, nor would the present state of affairs exist in the Church as it is."

So, as to whether or not artificial birth control contradicts natural law, don't expect a clear and cogent argument from the ordinary magisterium setting forth their reasons.

Most of the discussions in this forum will involve one of two major thrusts. One thrust involves issues of authority and tradition, questions about dispersion of the Magisterium and the sense of the faithful, issues regarding infallibility and the possibility of dissent, moral probabilism, etc The other thrust precisely involves Natural Law interpretations and the reasons defending one position or another, some totally for Church teaching and some totlly against, and, interestingly, some sort of in between (would you say, Michael?). Often, a third thrust involves the nature of sin, itself, and issues of exculpability, parvity of matter, fundamental option theory, conscience formation, knowledge and consent and will, metastabilization (where did you get that word, Michael, from chemistry or physics? or moral theology?), etc

Peace.
MomOfFour