News

Cultivation of virtue and modesty in the young is central to the role of parents

That includes the challenge of facing daily what many might consider a lost cause – repelling the assault on purity ...
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/ PRI Staff

The Church In Defense Of The Family

In Familiaris Consortio, Saint John Paul II assures us that, however loud the noise of the secular universe, however strong the ...
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/ PRI Staff

Pope Saint John Paul and the Gospel of Life

"Today there exists a great multitude of weak and defenseless human beings," writes Saint John Paul II, "unborn children in ...
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/ PRI Staff

A Clarion Call From a Courageous Pope

Ninety years ago, the modernist attacks on marriage and the family were reaping a foul harvest. In the words of ...
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/ PRI Staff

Our celebration of Humanae Vitae’s 52nd birthday continues

Our celebration of Humanae Vitae’s 52nd birthday continues as Dr. Janet Smith illuminates the history, teaching, and impact of the ...
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/ PRI Staff

Happy Humanae Vitae Week!

This week we celebrate the 52nd anniversary of Humanae Vitae, the wonderful gift given by Pope Saint Paul VI to ...
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/ PRI Staff

Planned Parenthood creates a false impression that it’s benefiting the black community.

Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider has done a masterful job of creating a false impression that its programs ...
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/ PRI Staff

Pro-Life Movement Needs Its Own ‘Seamless Garment’

The “Seamless Garment” theory gives Social Justice advocates a “Catholic” excuse to minimize abortion, and ignore contraception altogether, when considering ...
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/ PRI Staff

The Constitution and the March for Life

There are ample historical and constitutional grounds for defending the Right to Life. There are none that support the “right” ...
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/ PRI Staff

US, 18 other nations tell UN: ‘There is no international right to an abortion’

"It is refreshing to see a forceful message for life delivered with such clarity and authority at one of the most pro-abortion ...
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/ PRI Staff

Featured Content

On this site, we present the most thorough and accurate history of artificial contraception, from its roots in the early twentieth century through the promulgation of Humanae Vitae in 1968. The brilliant work, authored by Professor Gonzalo Herranz of the University of Navarra, provides all you need to understand and defend God’s command to our first parents, “Be fruitful and multiply.” We offer below summaries of each chapter in English, each with a link to the full Spanish text.

Introduction

It will soon be fifty years since the publication of the Encyclical Humanae vitae of Blessed Pope Paul VI, a ...

1. The birth of modern contraception.

Summary: Chapter 1 The Origins Of Modern Contraception: Three Terms And Three Attitudes This chapter considers the origin of three ...
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2. Early contraception and its rejection of abortion

Summary: Chapter 2 The first contraception and its incompatibility with abortion In this chapter we will show how, in the ...
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3. The medical profession and contraception: from contempt to acceptance

Summary: Chapter 3 The Medical Profession Before Contraception: From Rejection To Acceptance I. Introduction: Institutional Contempt For Contraception In general, and ...
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4. Catholic doctors and the AMA resolutions on contraception 

Summary: Chapter 4 Catholic Doctors and the Resolutions of the AMA on Contraception In this chapter we will study the ...
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5. Jurists approve abortive contraception

Summary: Chapter V Jurists approve abortive contraception I. The Model Penal Code of the American Institute of Law (ALI) The ...
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6. Changing words to change minds

Summary: Chapter 6 Changing words to change minds I. Introduction In the minds of its pioneers and in the opinion ...
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7. The Medico-Biological Aspect of the Papal Commission for the Study of the Problems of the Family, Population, and Birth Rate

Summary: Chapter VII The Medico-Biological Aspect of the Papal Commission for the Study of the Problems of the Family, Population, ...
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8.1 Protagonists in the Shadows: Edward C. Hughes

Summary: Chapter VIII (I) Protagonists in the shade (I): Edward C. Hughes y Raymond Holden I. Edward C. Hughes and ...
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8.2 Protagonists in the Shadows: Thomas Hayes and Alan S. Parkes

Summary: Chapter VIII (II) Protagonists in the shadows (II): Thomas Hayes and Alan S. Parkes I. Hayes and the "reproductive act" ...
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9.1 Scientific Research on Contraception: The “Abuse of Power” Ethos

Summary: Chapter IX.1 Scientific Research On Contraception: The “Abuse-of-Power” Ethos This chapter aims to review some ethical aspects of clinical ...
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9.2 Scientific Research on Contraception: The “Zoological” Ethos

Summary: Chapter IX.2 Scientific Research On Contraception: Zoological Ethos Modern contraceptive research was conceived from the beginning as female contraception ...
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Responsible Parenthood of ‘Humanae Vitae’ Requires Virtue

"In Humanae Vitae, Saint Paul VI explained that couples who have “serious” and “well-grounded reasons” to avoid the conception of a new ...
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Wow – You Mean Hell is Real?

Is anything sinful anymore? Father Thomas Weinandy, OFM Cap., thinks so. A member of the Vatican’s International Theological Commission, he ...
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A Great Opportunity to Celebrate Saint John Paul II’s Valiant Defense of Life

Today Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City commemorates the 25th anniversary of The Gospel of Life (Evangelium vitae): “As we ...
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Moral And Social Damage Done By The Pill Is Still Disturbing

Sixty years have passed since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration first authorized physicians to prescribe a drug that would ...
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Planned Parenthood’s gospel of sterility reeks of hatred. It reduces even great souls to pettiness and banality. PRI’s Dr. Christopher Manion explains.

Planned Parenthood’s Sterile Legacy of Extermination By Christopher Manion, Ph.D. Director, PRI’s Humanae Vitae Project Some 35 years ago, Mrs ...
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But Isn’t NFP Just Contraception By Another Name?

In a brief letter, Saint John Paul II considers NFP in its indispensable context of the Church’s teaching on the ...
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